Premiership strugglers Middlesbrough managed to avoid a potential banana skin at the Riverside as they progressed through the 4^th round of the FA Cup against Blue Square Premier League Barrow AFC. A brace from multi-million pound misfit Afonso Alves seemingly put Boro through with ease but the concession of a goal to Jason Walker late on made the seven minute added time a nervy affair for the team placed just above the Premier League relegation zone.

 

The game came at a cost to both clubs with Barrow’s Mike Pearson being stretchered off with a double break and Jeremie Aliadiere also leaving the field horizontally although x-ray’s have not revealed a serious injury as of yet.

The result must have come as a massive relief to beleaguered boss Gareth Southgate as whilst Chairman Steve Gibson is considered one of the most loyal in football even loyalty has its limits and a string of poor league results has left Boro fans questioning where their next win was coming from.

It will be a fair bet that Southgate’s Saturday night was somewhat more comfortable than that of Mark Hughes.