UEFA CUP: Boro to play Sevilla in final
London, April 28:
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 Massimo Maccarone scoring twice. Steaua had won the first leg 1-0 in Bucharest, Romania, 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 matchup a week later when FC Barcelona plays Arsenal for the Champions League title. The 101-year-old Sevilla won its only Spanish championship 60 years ago. Middlesbrough’s only title in its 131-year history was the 2004 League Cup, the second-tier English club knockout competition.
On Thursday, Middlesbrough went 2-0 down after 24 minutes and needed to score four goals and not concede again. It did — Maccarone scoring either side of goals by striker Mark Viduka and defender Chris Riggott.
Steaua took the lead in the 17th when Petre Marin’s shot was parried by Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Jones and Dica scored on 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 to bring Maccarone on for captain and defender Gareth Southgate. Maccarone’s 34th-minute goal sparked the revival.
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 in the quarter-finals 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.
Roared on by a capacity 45,000-strong crowd which set off firecrackers and red flares before the game, Sevilla began brightly with strikers Luis Fabiano and Javier Saviola each shooting 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.