The FA Cup will boast one Premier League side in the last four after Cardiff City continued a weekend of shocks by beating Middlesbrough 2-0 on Sunday.
First-half goals from Peter Whittingham and Roger Johnson handed the Championship (second division) side a deserved win at the Riverside and a place in the semi-finals alongside Barnsley and Portsmouth.
Barnsley stunned holders Chelsea with a 1-0 win at Oakwell while Portsmouth ousted Premier League champions and last season’s beaten finalists Manchester United with a 1-0 success at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Cardiff are the only non-English FA Cup winners after lifting the trophy in 1927 and manager Dave Jones said he hoped his modern-day side could achieve their own slice of history.
“Its important for us as a football club. I get it rammed down my throat... 1927 every time... so we’re trying to make our own history, and these boys deserve it and I’m sure the plane (home) will be rocking, not with the wind but with us on it tonight,” Jones said.
Cardiff rocked Middlesbrough by taking a ninth-minute lead — Whittingham producing some trickery inside the penalty box before unleashing a curling shot into the top right hand corner past a flailing Mark Schwarzer.
Whittingham then turned provider as the Welsh side doubled their lead on 22 minutes. His freekick from the left was missed by all of Boro’s static defenders who failed to pick up Johnson’s run and the defender scored with a diving header.
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