THIS was so very dearly thee greatest FA Cup tie in the competition's 125 years. It had to make do with being one of the greatest. Chesterfield is known for a spire. Yesterday their gallant football team produced the inspiration in a classic tie of drama, excitement and with a full measure of Cup romance.
Put together for a mere £320,000, the fourth oldest club in the world were 26 minutes away from beating a Middlesbrough side personally crafted at a cost of £21 million, to become the first team outside the top two divisions to play in the final of the world's oldest Cup competition. Unbelieveably, with Middlesbrough down to 10 men, the Second Division side led 2-0 after 75 minutes and at 2-1 had a goal ruled out in highly dubious circumstances by the referee David Elleray that would have surely left this riveting encounter beyond Middlesbrough's stylish reach.
But Fabrizio Ravanelli and Juninho showed the doubters since their arrival in Britain that they really are prepared to sweat as well as swagger and helped their shell shocked side pull the game round to leave the score at 3-2 in their favour with just one minute of extra time remaining.
Chesterfield had given everything and looked more than dead on their feet. But Chris Beaumont a late substitute with more strength left than his teammates hoisted a last hopeful long ball into the Middlesbrough area. Kevin Davies, Chesterfield's biggest threat all afternoon, jumped with a defender and the ball fell to Jamie Hewitt on the penalty spot.
With one last summoning of will the defender leapt higher than the red shirts gathered around him and steered a looping header past the flat footed goalkeeper Ben Roberts and into the top corner.
It is Hewitt's 30th birthday on May 17th, the day of the Cup final, and he made sure that Chesterfield at least have another chance of being there against Chelsea via the replay of this semi-final at Hillsborough on April 22nd.
For Middlesbrough this was a heart sinking repeat of the Coca Cola Cup Final where an equaliser three minutes from time denied them victory over Leicester last Sunday. And to those disappointments can be added yet another game for Bryan Rob son's weary players in a fixture pile up which sees them competing in the League Cup final replay on Wednesday, a relegation derby on Saturday against local rivals Sunderland before ending the season with four League games in eight days.
There was so much action yesterday it is difficult to know where to start describing it. Perhaps at the beginning is best. Not over-awed one bit, Chesterfield asserted themselves with calm assurance from the whistle. It was Middlesbrough who looked nervous early on, Jonathan Howard going closest for the blue-shirted underdogs.
Then came the first of many turning points. Vladimir Kinder had already been booked for kicking the ball away needlessly at a free kick when on 37 minutes the skillful, pacey Davies beat the defender down the right. Kinder twice pulled back the former international and was sent off for the second bookable offence.
Nine minutes after the break Chesterfield took advantage of the extra man when Howard got past the substitute Clayton Blackmore down the right, fired in a cross to the ubiquitous Davies whose shot was deflected past the keeper and the six foot four inch striker Andy Morris only had to tap the ball in at the far post. Six minutes later Chesterfield amazingly went 2-0 ahead. Morris again steamed into the area and was upended by, or fell over, Roberts' diving body.
Elleray saw the former and Sean Dyche hammered in the penalty. Chesterfield went predictably wild.
Within four minutes Middlesbrough had pulled a goal back, Emerson sending Blackmore clear down the left and Ravanelli bundled in his cross for his 28th goal of the season. Five minutes after that came the most controversial decision of the afternoon. Howard found himself free in the area with the ball at his feet.
He turned smartly and hammered a shot which hit the bar and came down what proved afterwards to be over the line. To everyone's surprise Ellaray blew for an infringement. For what no one was clear.
When, two minutes later, Ella ray gave a penalty to Middlesbrough after Juninho seemed to run into Dyche it only compounded the injustice in Chesterfield's minds. Craig Hignett duly equalised from the spot squeezing the ball under Billy Mercer's body.
Thirty minutes of extra time was a daunting prospect to tired Chesterfield and Middlesbrough duly applied a firmer grip to the game. The impressive Mercer produced a flying save from Juninho and blocked well from Ravanelli. It was inevitable that Middlesbrough would take the lead and it arrived when, Robbie Mustoe's shot cannoned off the bar, bounced over the head of the advancing Juninho and fell to the defender Gianluca Festa who drilled the ball home.
