Unlikely lads steal Cup show

STEVE CLARIDGE, the jobbing footballer from below stairs, won the League Cup for Leicester City at Hillsborough last night and with it a place in next season's UEFA Cup.

The 31 year old Claridge struck in the ninth minute of extra time when it began to look as if chances missed earlier, notably by Emile Heskey, who hit a post, would force Leicester and Middlesbrough into the first penalty shoot out in League Cup final history.

Steve Walsh headed back Garry Parker's free kick from the left and Claridge volleyed the ball past Andy Roberts.

A drawn final at Wembley had given Leicester fresh hope, their opponents nothing but frustration. Even before Middlesbrough knew they would be returning to Hillsborough again on Tuesday to decide their FA Cup semi final against Chesterfield, the last thing their congested fixture list wanted was last night's game.

Avoiding relegation from the Premiership is Teeside's principal aim but last night, as they were there, Bryan Robson's team knew they might as well try to win the first major trophy in Middlesbrough's 121 year history.

Heskey's goal two minutes from the end of extra time had denied them this achievement at Wembley. Now, Fabrizio Ravanelli, who had given Boro the lead, and Juninho, whose run at the defence had set the goal up, had to do it all over again.

But not with quite the same faces around them: Mark Schwarzer, missing on Sunday, was still not fit so Roberts stayed, in goal while Vladimir Kinder and Clayton Blackmore had replaced Curtis Fleming and Mikkel Beck in the Wembley side.

Blackmore's presence in midfield meant Craig Hignett pushed further forward to support Ravanelli. Juninho renewed close acquaintances with Pontus Kaamark, his marker at Wembley. Early in the game, the Swede accidentally sat on the Brazilian and for a moment or two Juninho looked in trouble.

Compared to the first match, there was a greater sense of urgency last night with Middlesbrough's passes showing better penetration and Hignett's 25 yard drive forcing Kasey Keller to touch the ball past a post in the 10th minute.

Again Leicester played a longer game, leaving much to Heskey's pace and power in the air and Claridge's ability to hold the ball under pressure.

At least Leicester gained a clear sight of goal rather earlier than they had done at Wembley, when neither side achieved a shot on target before half time. In the 25th minute, Parker's low shot rebounded off Roberts's chest straight to Mike Whitlow, who drove the ball a yard wide of the far post.

Five minutes later, Heskey, showing an impressive turn of speed, sprinted past Nigel Pearson to reach a long ball from Parker which had dropped behind the Middlesbrough defence but, despite getting a touch, could not gain sufficient control for a shot.

Again Hignett did better 11 minutes from half time. Another slick build up of passes created space near Leicester's penalty area and Ravanelli set up Hignett for a shot that Keller did well to hold.

While Middlesbrough continued to gain territorial advantage, Leicester should still have gone ahead before the first half ended. In the 38th minute Heskey, striding clear of the last defender to gather Neil Lennon's through pass, sent an angled shot past Roberts only to see it rebound from the far post.

Juninho always gave Boro hope. Ten minutes after half time he darted into space to meet Ravanelli's pass and send a shot dipping over the bar.

With Parker wasting a couple of free kicks in promising positions and Middlesbrough now struggling to thread together more than two or three passes a familiar sense of stalemate started to return. After an hour both attacks were waiting for defenders to make mistakes, but Spencer Prior and Pearson remained figures of command and authority in either penalty area.

Afterwards, Leicester manager Martin O'Neill had a firm message to critics of his team last night: "We've won and we deserved it."

"I cannot put this into words at the moment," said the former Northern Ireland international. It won't take a week to sink in, it won't take a month. If we avoid relegation it will sink in some time during the summer. It is a superb moment for everyone at the football club. The fans have been sensational. It is fantastic, but I feel sorry for Bryan Robson as his side played some great football tonight, but we were great too and deserve this.

Steve Claridge, whose extra time strike secured the win, was justifiably ecstatic. "I cannot believe it has happened. When I scored the winner in last year's play off final that was fantastic, but now lightning has struck twice. This is wonderful for the whole club, especially as everyone wrote us off. We have proved them wrong now.

Claridge, who wrote a book called Tales from the Boot Camp, has been open about his gambling habits in recent times, but revealed he had not put any money on himself notching the opening goal. I never back myself to do that. If I had have done then I would have missed."