Middlesbrough secured another brilliant FA Cup upset as they beat Tottenham 1-0 after extra-time at the Riverside.
After their victory at Old Trafford in the last round, Chris Wilder’s side had every right to be confident and it showed as they took the game to Spurs.
Harry Kane had a goal ruled out in the second-time, before both sides missed chances to win it inside the 90 minutes.
Teenager Josh Coburn came off the bench for Boro and scored a famous goal early in the second period of extra-time, and the home side held firm to secure a place in the quarter-final draw.
For Tottenham, they will finish another season without silverware as their wait for a first trophy since 2008 goes on, and the defeat will do little to ease some of the frustrations Antonio Conte has shown in recent weeks.
It was a low-key start to the match, with neither side managing a shot in the first 25 minutes at the Riverside.
Andraz Sporar threatened to trouble Hugo Lloris as Duncan Watmore found him in the box, but the striker’s shot was blocked before it could reach the Frenchman.
Middlesbrough enjoyed plenty of possession, though that suited Tottenham just fine as they looked to catch the home side on the break.
They very nearly did just that with five minutes remaining in the half as Dejan Kulusevski played Matt Doherty through on the right. Joe Lumley came flying off his line, Doherty poked it past the goalkeeper but from a tight angle he couldn’t find the empty net.
Neither side managed a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, in what was a half lacking in any real quality.
Boro should have taken the lead shortly after the break, when Matt Crooks found himself completely free from a corner, but the midfielder headed over the bar from six yards out.
Tottenham had the ball in the net on the hour mark. A corner was flicked on and, after some wrestling, Kane got into space at the back post to tap home, but the offside flag was up as the striker wheeled away in celebration.
Folarin Balogun had a good chance for Boro with ten minutes remaining, though the striker on loan from Arsenal sent his effort well over the bar from inside the box.
Steven Bergwijn was introduced by Antonio Conte and within seconds he found himself in behind, only to have Paddy McNair throw himself in front of the shot.
Boro had two more big opportunities to win it inside 90 minutes in the closing stages, as Isaiah Jones had a shot parried out by Lloris and Jonny Howson then headed wide when free from the resulting corner, and another 30 minutes were required.
The home side had more promising moments in extra-time, getting plenty of bodies into the box but each time the final ball was not up to standard and Tottenham were able to scramble it clear. Tavernier volleyed an effort at goal, which was kept out by Lloris.
Heung-min Son flicked a great effort from close-range at the end of the half which very nearly snuck under Lumley, only for the goalkeeper to quickly gather as it trickled towards the line.
Middlesbrough got the goal their performance deserved just after the restart in extra-time. Crooks poked a ball through to Coburn, he just about kept himself onside and then hammered an effort past Lloris and into the far corner to spark wild celebrations at the Riverside.
There was to be no late charge from Tottenham, as they fell to a tame defeat and another stumbling performance, with inconsistency continuing to be a huge problem.
