Jose Antonio Reyes, Arsenal's new signing, scored his first goal in English soccer on Tuesday. Sadly for the Gunners, it made sure they didn't reach the League Cup final.
Signed from Sevilla last week and making his first start, Reyes slid to stop Stuart Parnaby scoring his first goal for Boro but diverted the ball past his own keeper five minutes from the end.
PHOTO: AP
The victory at the Riverside meant that Boro triumphed 3-1 overall having won 1-0 at Highbury in the first leg. Bolton triumphed 5-4 over Aston Villa and two of soccer's least storied teams will meet in the Feb. 29 final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
Arsenal defender Martin Keown was sent off for the 13th time in his career for a professional foul a minute before half time to make things more difficult for the Gunners, who fielded a below strength team with many big stars rested.
Boudewijn Zenden gave Boro a 69th minute lead only for Edu to level eight minutes later. But Reyes, who failed to make an impact in attack, inadvertantly sent Boro, which has never won a major title in its 129-year history, into the final. Boro was runner up in 1997 and 1998.
"This means everything," said Boro manager Steve McClaren. "When you look at the tradition of this football club. It's been so close before and we're there again.
"The players were fantastic. I thought Juninho was absolutely magnificent. We did a great job at Highbury and the final's something to look forward. It will be a terrific day.
"Bolton-Middlesbrough -- the tradition of the two clubs, it will fantastic for both. I hope we have a great day and that we come out on top."
Although Bolton is a four-time FA Cup winner and reached the League Cup final in 1995, it hasn't captured a title since 1958, when it beat Manchester United at Wembley in the FA Cup final.
"Bolton about nine years ago went to Wembley and lost [to Liverpool]," said Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce who was also at the game for Sky TV. "When I first got to Bolton in '99 we got to two semifinals -- of this competition and the FA Cup -- and that was huge disappointing for me and everybody at the club."
Tuesday's game at the Riverside was the clubs' fourth meeting in 24 days, Arsenal winning in the league and FA Cup but losing the first leg of the League Cup semifinal.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger kept faith with the young backup players who had taken the Gunners to the last four with Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Sol Campbell, Dennis Bergkamp, Lauren, Gilberto Silva and Jens Lehmann all rested and Fredrik Ljungberg injured. But team captain Patrick Vieira was back from a one-game suspension.
"We had a team out today who could qualify. We have a big squad and we have only regular players in that squad. It happens that these players weren't playing in the Premiership."
Massimo Maccarone should have Boro further ahead overall in the 18th minute when he collected a short forward pass from first leg scorer Juninho but shot wide with just goalkeeper Graham Stack to beat.
Then Stack made a wonder save to keep out a close range shot from the Italian, scooping the ball off the line while diving backwards.
The Gunners were down to 10 men a minute before half time when Juninho's through ball gave Maccarone another run at goal and the beaten Keown hauled the Italian striker down 5m outside the area.
"It was a 100 percent sending off," Wenger said. "The referee had no other option but to give Martin the red card. But I think the rebound of the ball surprised Martin."
Ten-man Arsenal was unlucky not to get a penalty in the opening minute of the second half when Reyes reached a through ball before Boro's Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer who failed to make contact with the ball but unended the young Spaniard. Referee Dermot Gallagher awarded a corner.
Then the Aussie 'keeper made a reflex-action block to keep out a close range shot from Kolo Toure.
But Boro broke away to score take the lead on the night and go 2-0 ahead overall with a goal that started from Schwarzer's own hands in the 69th minute.
The 'keeper caught an Arsenal cross from the left and started the move. Maccarone pushed a ball into Gaizka Mendieta whose first time pass put Zenden clear of the Gunners defense and the Dutch midfielder fired past Stack from 15m out.
Tempers began to boil and Arsenal forward David Bentley was shown the yellow card for an ugly clash with Juninho after he had blatantly blocked the little Brazilian.
Vieira, who had a standout game for the Gunners, was denied an equalizer when Schwarzer dived to his right to push away his long range shot. But the Gunners equalized from the resulting corner when the ball struck the post and Edu then stooped his head to nod the ball into the net from the rebound.
But Boro made sure of a place in the final five minutes from the end when Juninho cut in from the left and Joseph-Desire Job cleverly stepped over his pass. Parnaby collected the ball and, despite a challenhe from Reyes, fired low into the corner of the net.
In an FA Cup fourth round replay, Rowan Vine's hat-trick gave division two Colchester a 3-1 victory over division one Coventry.
German Cup
French midfielder Joan Micoud scored a 90th minute goal and 50 seconds later set up the gamewinner as Werder Bremen charged back in dramatic style Tuesday in the German Cup.
The Bundesliga frontrunner, trailing 2-1 until the final seconds, beat Greuther Fuerth 3-2 to reach the Cup semifinals for the 17th time. Ivan Klasnic scored the injury time goal on the Frenchman's pass to stun the second division club.
"The end was bitter for us -- I still don't exactly know how it happened," said Fuerth coach Thomas Kost.
VfB Luebeck also reached the final four on a 48th minute goal by Silvio Adzic, winning 1-0 to end outsider Hoffenheim's run. The third league team has just 3,400 residents in its town.
Goalie Joerg Stiel held twice as Borussia Moenchengladbach also advanced 4-3 in a penalty shootout after 2-2 in regular play. The semifinal lineup will be completed by Wednesday's winner between Bayern Munich and Alemannia Aachen.
Bremen was coasting comfortably on a 18th minute 1-0 lead by Canadian Paul Stalteri -- then self-destructed late in the match and appeared destined for a huge upset.
A 74th minute own goal by Bremen's Valerien Ismael was followed two minutes later by former Bayer Leverkusen player Marcus Feinbeer volleying in a long downfield free kick to put Fuerth ahead 2-1.
On the second goal, Bremen goalie Andreas Reinke appeared to let the soft volley from Feinbeer slide through his hands. His club's self-destruction appeared complete in the 83rd minute when Umit Davila was sent off, leaving Bremen shorthanded.
But Micoud, given much of the credit for Bremen's rise in the Bundesliga, turned around the match with the help of a Fuerth player's defender.
He stumbled over a cross from Bremen reserve forward Nelson Valdez and Micoud quickly rifled it in, triggering the end of Fuerth's hopes of the big upset.
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