For Manchester United the FA Cup is no longer just any other business, not with a fourth-round tie at home to Liverpool in three weeks' time. The Champions League may still be Alex Ferguson's priority but yesterday's industrious 3-1 win over Middlesbrough at Old Trafford has, for the moment, directed United's attention to matters nearer home.
Although United deserved the win which avenged their 3-2 home defeat by Middlesbrough in the Premiership a fortnight ago, this game turned on a penalty decision which proved to be more debatable than it appeared at the time.
Having fallen behind to Andy Townsend's goal early in the second half, United drew level through an excellent finish from Andy Cole just over 20 minutes from the end. Then with nine minutes left Neil Maddison seemed to bring down Nicky Butt as the midfielder moved over the 18-yard line, and certainly the referee Graham Barber did not hesitate to award a penalty from which Denis Irwin put United ahead.
Maddison raged at Butt but his colleagues did not protest, and when Ryan Giggs scored United's third goal in stoppage time any arguments looked superfluous. Then the television replays showed that Maddison's lunge had made no contact with Butt, leaving Middlesbrough with a prima-facie case for pleading floodlit robbery.
"I made no contact whatsoever," Maddison said later. "I went to Nicky Butt and said, `I haven't touched you, I can't believe you've gone down'."
Middlesbrough's manager Bryan Robson said: "Unfortunately the referee bought a decision when Nicky Butt dived. It's a very disappointing way to go out of the competition." Ferguson said dryly: "For Graham Barber to give us a penalty kick it must have been a penalty." But even he admitted it was "a softish penalty".
Almost inevitably, Robson advanced the case for a fourth official checking hairline decisions, but on this occasion Barber might not have felt the need for a second opinion. And had TV replays not existed, only Maddison would have been convinced of his innocence.
Maybe Middlesbrough were entitled to complain about the circumstances of their early departure from the FA Cup but United's overall superiority yesterday brooked less argument. As Ferguson said: "That's one of our best performances this season. The intensity of the passing and movement was outstanding."
That it took United so long to reflect these qualities in shots or goals said much for the excellence of Middlesbrough's three central defenders, especially Gary Pallister, who again returned to Old Trafford to remind former colleagues of his strength, authority and coolness under pressure. And when Ferguson's attack did begin to penetrate the opposition's cover, Mark Schwarzer frustrated them for a time with a series of agile saves.
Yesterday United were not quite all there. David Beckham and Gary Neville were suspended and Paul Scholes and Ronny Johnsen both had flu. For much of the match this necessitated Giggs playing on the right flank while Jesper Blomqvist came in on the left, giving United considerable potential on either wing. However, the quality of centre which Beckham regularly provides was seldom seen and before half-time the only serious threat to Middlesbrough's goal was Roy Keane's volley over the bar after 10 minutes.
Even so United's quantity of possession was bound to have some effect eventually, and but for Schwarzer they might have scored twice through Cole and Dwight Yorke in the first five minutes of the second half.
Until then, with Paul Gascoigne largely anonymous in his first FA Cup match since the 1991 final, the only hint of a Middlesbrough win had been the sharp header with which Robbie Mustoe met Dean Gordon's cross after 22 minutes. Peter Schmeichel was well positioned to save it but in the 52nd minute he was beaten by Townsend's carefully angled shot after Brian Deane had nodded Colin Cooper's long free-kick clear of the last defender.
United had not gone out in the third round since losing at Bournemouth 15 years earlier, and they did not like losing now. After 68 minutes Cole slipped past Maddison to collect a low cross from Giggs and drive the ball into the roof of the net. Irwin's penalty followed and for Middlesbrough the game looked up even before Giggs gathered a return pass from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to score their third.
Manchester Utd: Schmeichel, Brown (Neville 75), Irwin, Stam, Berg, Giggs, Keane, Butt, Blomqvist (Solskjaer 73), Cole (Sheringham 84), Yorke. Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, Cruyff. Goals: Cole 68, Irwin 82 pen, Giggs 90.
Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Fleming, Gordon, Maddison, Pallister, Cooper, Mustoe (Stamp 61), Townsend, Gascoigne (Beck 75), Ricard, Deane. Subs Not Used: Beresford, Stockdale, Blackmore. Booked: Deane. Goals: Townsend 52.
Referee: G Barber (Pyrford).
