Middlesbrough 0 Burton Albion 1: League One side reach semi-finals
Jake Hesketh's 48th-minute strike sent Nigel Clough's third-tier Burton Albion into the EFL Cup semi-finals at the expense of Middlesbrough.
Burton Albion will appear in the EFL Cup semi-finals for the first time after Jake Hesketh earned the League One team a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough.
Hesketh made the most of some slack defending in the 48th minute to beat Darren Randolph and make Nigel Clough's side the first from the third-tier to reach the final four since Sheffield United in 2014-15.
Middlesbrough had the better of the opportunities in the opening period, with Lewis Wing the first to test the impressive Burton goalkeeper Bradley Collins – on loan from Chelsea – in the 12th minute.
Stewart Downing saw his 25-yard free-kick pushed away from the top-right corner by Collins, who kept out Jordan Hugill from an acute angle in the 37th minute.
Burton went ahead three minutes into the second period when Jamie Allen's shot came back off the post and Muhamed Besic failed to clear, with Hesketh sliding in and seeing his snap-shot helped into the bottom-right corner by Aden Flint.
Boro failed to register a single shot on target in the second half, missing out on a great chance to reach the semi-finals for the first time since they won the EFL Cup in 2003-04.
FULL-TIME:Burton Albion are in the semi-finals of the .I'll repeat that.BURTON ALBION ARE IN THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE CARABAO CUP!!!!!!!!!December 18, 2018
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
‘This is the hardest Manchester derby to call in years – Manchester United shouldn’t be petrified, it feels like Manchester City aren’t in control of any game at the moment’ Former Red Devils striker thinks a surprise result could be possible
‘Thierry Henry was my hero, but when you talk about players who have a wand of a left foot, he genuinely had that. He made my life so much easier on the right’: Ex-Arsenal star omits Gunners legend from his Perfect XI