Middlesbrough captain Jonny Howson is pinching himself after the Championship outfit knocked Harry Kane and Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur out of the FA Cup, speaking to the BBC.
The 33-year-old midfielder was the oldest player in both starting XIs during Tuesday’s giant-killing classic at the Riverside. Not that you’d have guessed it.
Haring around the pitch like a man half his age, Howson kicked every ball, won every tackle, hassled, harried and humbled as Chris Wilder’s brilliantly organised Middlesbrough side followed up their fourth-round triumph over Manchester United with another ‘cupset’ for the ages.
“We knew it was going to be tough physically,” says Howson, who just about edged out team-mates Dael Fry, Joe Lumley and Isaiah Jones to claim the Man of the Match award.
“(Tottenham) have world-class players who can move the ball around and make you work hard.”
Trophyless again
How many ‘world-class’ players Antonio Conte really has at his disposal is up for debate.
Surely, only Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son can claim such a status. Not that either Kane or Son performed like a ‘world-class’ footballer during their midweek trip to the North East, marked out the game by Wilder’s fluid 3-4-2-1 system.
“Beating Manchester United gave us confidence – (to) enjoy it, give it a right good go and see what happens,” Howson adds.
“If they turned us over with quality you can hold your hands up but we applied ourselves right. You see what happens in this competition and we have another upset.
“Moments like this don’t come around often so you have to enjoy it when they do.
“My little lad Harry has got into football recently. I was playing against Cristiano Ronaldo and he said you’ll never beat Ronaldo’s team. Now Harry Kane as well, so I can tell him we have beaten them too.”
A vicious extra-time winner from Bedale-born Josh Coburn consigned Tottenham to yet another trophyless season. Antonio Conte’s side have now lost five of their last eight games in all competitions.
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