Mowbray helps lift chastened Robson’s morale

Middlesbrough midfielder Barry Robson was distraught after handing derby rivals Sunderland an FA Cup lifeline.

The Scotland international, whose stunning 16th-minute volley had fired the npower Championship visitors into the lead at the Stadium of Light, played a part in substitute Fraizer Campbell’s 59th-minute equaliser when his loose pass set James McClean away on a pacy counter-attack.

Robson’s error did not prevent him from picking up the man-of-the-match award at the end of a pulsating fourth-round encounter, but manager Tony Mowbray revealed that proved little consolation.

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Mowbray said: “He came in and he threw his champagne in the bin.

“He is a very emotional boy, Barry, and yet he epitomises the spirit required as we as a club move on.

“Particularly in the Championship, you have to fight your corner every minute of every game, and Barry Robson leads from the front in that aspect.

“He also has a left foot like we have seen. If you were there against Hull a month or so ago, he rifled one in the top corner from 35 yards with his left foot.

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“(Yesterday), he scored a great first-time volley. He has the quality, as well as a heart the size of a lion, to help drive us on this season.”

Boro arrived at the Stadium of Light on the back of a three-game losing run in the Championship, but went ahead against their Premier League neighbours through Robson’s fine volley.

Sunderland thought they had levelled six minutes before the break when Craig Gardner fired home off the inside off a post, only for a controversially raised flag for offside to ruin his celebrations.

Manager Martin O’Neill said: “I have been told it was given for offside, and it wasn’t offside.

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“The referee is adamant that’s what the linesman gave it for. There is supposedly a suggestion of handball beforehand, which I don’t think he saw.

“I said to the referee at half-time, ‘Was it handball or offside?’, and he said, ‘I never mentioned handball’, so if it was given for offside, it should have stood.”

Mowbray was similarly puzzled, if less disappointed, by referee Kevin Friend’s decision.

He said: “Martin had a very similar view to me and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have known what on earth that goal wasn’t given for when he sees the linesman’s flag up.”

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Boro striker Lukas Jutkiewicz passed up a glorious opportunity to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage in the final minute of the first half, and former Manchester United frontman Campbell provided the finishing touch to McClean’s 59th-minute cross to claim his first goal since April 2010.

O’Neill said: “I am really, really delighted for him, and I think everybody is around here – it’s hard not to be with the injuries he has sustained.

“He took it brilliantly as well – it may well have been his first or second touch.”

However, the draw came at a cost for the Black Cats, who will send captain Lee Cattermole, who missed out with a hamstring injury, and defender Wes Brown, who suffered suspected medial ligament damage, for scans today.

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Despite his disappointment, Middlesbrough goalscorer Robson has warned Sunderland that Mowbray’s men have every confidence of winning the replay at home.

The Scotland midfielder, commenting on giving away possession to allow Campbell to fire home the equaliser , said: “That was a bit of slackness from myself and I’m disappointed.

“It was a simple little task, but it happens. Top footballers do it so we’ll move on.”

And Robson was adamant Boro would back themselves at home, having matched Sunderland for long stretches yesterday.

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“I think there are a few players in our team who have played at a higher level. We know what to expect, we’re used to it.

“Credit to them, but we look forward to the next game and we think we can beat them playing at home.”

Campbell was making his first senior appearance since August 2010 after a long-running injury nightmare, and was delighted to get straight back into the goals.

“Personally, I was delighted to be back out there,” he said.

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“We started sloppy, and let them dictate to us, but we dug deep. Cup games are like that, especially a local derby which adds that little bit more spice, but I think we deserved the draw and we move on to the next game.”

Reflecting on his long spell on the sidelines, Campbell added: “You can’t put it into words. It was a tough 18 months for myself, but days like this are what I’ve been waiting for, and hopefully now I can stay injury-free and just do what I do.”

Boro boss Mowbray added he was dealing with a “disappointed” dressing room, not just one player in Robson.

“In the second half a few things fell for us, and a clinical finish or ricochet could have got us the goal,” he said.

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“In the first half-hour, it was a bit attritional like a derby game can be, but we got the goal on the break, and maybe should have had a second on half-time. But great credit to the players as in the second half they got stronger.”

Mowbray questioned whether the disallowed goal may have played a role in other decisions in the match. “I haven’t seen it, but what I do think is the officials saw it,” he said. “There seemed to be a lot of close decisions in the second half, and a lot of decisions went against us, maybe on the evidence of something they felt they got wrong.”