Middlesbrough

0-1

West Ham United

 

 

Harewood 78

FA Cup Semi-Final
Sunday 23 April 2006
Villa Park
Winning club receives £900,000



West Ham clinched a place in The FA Cup Final and a passport to Europe after Marlon Harewood’s stunning goal beat Middlesbrough at Villa Park.

Harewood latched onto a Dean Ashton knock-down and thundered home a left-foot piledriver after 78 minutes to put the Hammers in their first Final since winning the Cup in 1980.

It means they will now face Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on 13 May and also guarantees Alan Pardew’s team a place in the UEFA Cup next season.

The result left West Ham’s noisy fans celebrating with gusto but it was a win that never looked like coming in the first half.

Middlesbrough suffered a pre-match blow when in-form striker Mark Viduka failed a fitness test - but still started the game at break-neck speed.

West Ham hardly had time to breathe as Fabio Rochemback had two shots on goal, one wide and one saved, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink a header cleared and Stewart Downing a low effort well stopped by Shaka Hislop. And all that inside the first 10 minutes.

By the time things had settled down it was mid-way through the half and Boro were still largely on top, dominating possession in midfield.

Stewart Downing and young English full-back Andrew Taylor were an impressive combination down the left flank and Rochemback a major influence in the centre.

And the tempo of the game only slowed when Boro keeper Mark Schwarzer was hurt in a collision with Ashton and had to be replaced by stand-in Bradley Jones after 40 minutes.

Schwarzer has a suspected broken cheek bone, adding to Middlesbrough’s misery.

Whatever Alan Pardew said at half-time to his players changed the flow of the game, however, and West Ham came out roaring after the break.

Spurred on by their magnificent fans they almost scored when Ashton headed a Benayoun corner against the bar after 55 minutes - and again when Nigel Reo-Coker fizzed a thunderous effort narrowly wide.

Then they grabbed their all-important goal after 78 minutes thanks to Harewood’s shot on the turn, his 16th goal of an impressive season.

Boro, who have a UEFA Cup semi-final against Steaua Bucharest later this week, hit back with a Franck Queudrue free-kick that was well saved by Shaka Hislop and a late chance that was missed by Chris Riggott.

But West Ham were the ones celebrating and blowing bubbles at the final whistle. And it sets up the prospect of an excellent Final in Cardiff next month.

Middlesbrough
Schwarzer, Riggott, Southgate, Queudrue, Parnaby, Rochemback, Boateng, Downing, Taylor, Hasselbaink, Yakubu.
Subs: Jones, Ehiogu, Parlour, Maccarone, Bates.

West Ham United
Hislop, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Collins, Konchesky, Benayoun, Mullins, Reo-Coker, Etherington, Harewood, Ashton.
Subs: Walker, Scaloni, Sheringham, Zamora, Newton.

Referee: Mike Riley

Attendance: