The Hindu : Sport : Middlesbrough to meet Sevilla

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 29, 2006

Sport

Sport

Middlesbrough to meet Sevilla

LONDON: Middlesbrough and Sevilla reached their first UEFA Cup final on Thursday. English club Middlesbrough staged a remarkable comeback at its Riverside Stadium to beat Steaua Bucharest 4-2 and advance 4-3 on aggregate with substitute striker Massimo Maccarone scoring twice.

Steaua had won the first leg 1-0 in Bucharest last week on striker Nicolae Dica's goal.

In Spain, Sevilla needed an extra-time goal from reserve midfielder Antonio Puerta to beat 1997 champion Schalke 1-0 on aggregate after it was 0-0 in last week's first leg in Germany.

The May 10 final in Eindhoven, Netherlands, will be the first European final for both clubs. There will be another Spain vs. England match-up exactly a week later when FC Barcelona plays Arsenal for the Champions League title.

Sevilla, in its 101st year, won its only Spanish crown 60 years ago, while Middlesbrough's only title in its 131-year history was the 2004 League Cup, the second-tier English club knock-out competition. ``There's no clear favourite,'' Sevilla coach Juande Ramos said.

Maccarone strikes

On Thursday, Middlesbrough went 2-0 down after 24 minutes and needed to score four goals and not concede again. Maccarone scored two of them, while striker Mark Viduka and defender Chris Riggott contributed one each.

``It's unbelievable,'' said Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Middlesbrough striker. ``We are in the final and we have to go for it in the final. We had to do it the hard way.''

Steaua took the lead in the 17th when Petre Marin's shot was parried by Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Jones and Dica scored off the rebound.

Dorin Goian made it 2-0 when his header was palmed away by Jones but Goian netted the rebound.

That prompted Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren, a candidate to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson as England coach, to bring Maccarone on for captain and defender Gareth Southgate.

Maccarone's 34th-minute goal sparked Middlesbrough's revival.

``Unfortunately, we believed too early that we were through to the final,'' said Steaua coach Cosmin Olaroiu. ``The first goal we allowed scared us a little and we took a step back, we made foolish mistakes caused by our lack of experience at this level,'' he added.

Doing it again

It's the second time Maccarone has proved the difference for Boro in the last minute this season.

The Italian scored to complete a 4-1 victory over Swiss team FC Basel that gave Middlesbrough a 4-3 win on aggregate in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals on April 7.

Sevilla advanced through Puerta's goal in the 101st minute. Puerta, a 77th-minute replacement for Adriano Correia, rifled his shot home from the left side of the goal at Sevilla's Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.

The final whistle was greeted by a firework display just outside the stadium, while thousands of delighted Sevilla supporters invaded the field to celebrate.

``It's been a perfect night. To win the game and reach the final and for it to be our first is a great prize. But you can't advance without hard work,'' Ramos said.

Bright start

Roared on by a capacity 45,000-strong crowd, which set off firecrackers and red flares before the game, Sevilla began brightly but strikers Luis Fabiano and Javier Saviola shot narrowly wide.

Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop saved Gerald Asamoah's low shot in the 61st minute, and he then deprived Kevin Kuranyi of a shooting chance six minutes later.

Schalke midfielder Fabian Ernst shot just over the bar in the 87th in the last chance of regular time.

``It was a very hard-fought game which was going to be decided by a goal,'' Schalke coach Mirko Slomka said. ``We tried to equalise and had several chances but in the end we were eliminated." — AP

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