Middlesbrough have rejected an offer from Aston Villa for Morgan Rogers, the PA news agency understands.

Villa have turned to Rogers to boost their attacking options but the bid has apparently been turned down.

Rogers, 21, only joined Boro six months ago but has impressed under boss Michael Carrick.

Unai Emery is looking to increase his forward options as Villa aim to maintain a surprise title challenge with the club third in the Premier League.

Jhon Duran could leave this month while Ollie Watkins is Emery’s only other frontline striker.

Rogers, who was born just outside Birmingham in Halesowen, started his career at West Brom – making one substitute appearance – and joined Manchester City in 2019.

He did not play a senior game for City and had loan spells at Lincoln, Bournemouth and Blackpool.

Boro signed him last summer and he has made 31 appearances this season, scoring six times, helping Carrick’s side into the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Rogers faced Villa in the FA Cup third round earlier this month, with Villa winning 1-0 at the Riverside.

Boro are 10th in the Championship but only a point outside of the top six and host Rotherham on Saturday before travelling to Chelsea – with a 1-0 first-leg advantage – for the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi next week.

Michael Carrick admitted Middlesbrough’s bench made the difference after they came from a goal behind beat Millwall 3-1 at The Den in the Sky Bet Championship.

Carrick’s Boro were on a high after Tuesday’s 1-0 Carabao Cup semi-final first leg victory over Chelsea and rounded off an impressive week with victory over another London side.

Joe Bryan opened the scoring for the hosts before strikes from Lukas Engel, Isaiah Jones and substitute Marcus Forss turned things around.

Matt Crooks also came off the bench to have a positive impact in the second half.

Carrick said: “We knew it was going to be a challenge but we found our way the longer the game went, I’m delighted for the boys.

“We showed good spirit and quality and the bench made the difference for us, which we missed for a period of time.

“I thought the squad felt strong today and it can get stronger. We have a good group.

“Marcus (Forss) has worked hard for a period of time now and it’s a big goal for him and for us.”

Millwall struggled to replicate their dominant first half display and lost their way in the second 45.

Manager Joe Edwards highlighted his team’s injuries and agreed that Boro’s squad depth played a part on the day.

He added: “We felt that today (Boro’s depth). I’ve felt it in other games as well.

“I remember being stood down there when we were hanging on to a 1-0 lead against Norwich and when I saw the subs they were bringing on I thought ‘wow, that’s some impact and it will now get harder in the final 20 to 30 minutes.’

“That’s something I felt today.

“There’s a group of around seven of our players in their tracksuits today who are unable to play and that hurts us.”

Edwards struggled to hide his disappointment after the Lions failed to make it four successive league wins.

He said: “It’s disappointing. The goals they scored were soft and the bottom line is if you are playing a team at that level and dominate as much as we did in the first half an hour we needed to cash in and get that second goal.”

Middlesbrough conceded early but battled back strongly to win 3-1 win at Millwall in the Sky Bet Championship.

Michael Carrick’s Reds, who beat Premier League Chelsea in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, claimed another London scalp on Saturday.

Joe Bryan opened the scoring for the home side at The Den but goals from Lukas Engel, Isaiah Jones and Marcus Forss turned things around in favour of the Teessiders.

Millwall took a deserved 10th-minute lead, as the visitors cracked under early pressure.

Ryan Longman’s cross was cleared but only into the path of Bryan, who guided his effort into the bottom right corner from outside the box.

The Lions came close to doubling their lead five minutes later. Bryan turned creator and whipped a dangerous cross into the six-yard box, with centre-back Jake Cooper’s first-time effort clipping the bar.

Boro spent large parts of the first half on the back foot but they managed to break forward and equalise seven minutes before the interval.

Jones, whose positive form carried on after his impressive display against Chelsea, threaded a pass to Sam Greenwood. The on-loan Leeds player found the Engel with a low cross and the unmarked Dane levelled with a  close-range finish.

The visitors took the lead in the 58th minute after Bryan misjudged heading a high ball, with pacey former Tooting & Mitcham player Jones advancing and coolly finished past Matija Sarkic.

Millwall sought a way back into the game but failed to replicate their dominance of the early stages and played slow passes around the back, much to the frustration of animated manager Joe Edwards.

The visitors turned the screw and looked the most likely to score again.

Substitute Matt Crooks showed quick feet, turning his man in midfield before unleashing debutant Luke Ayling down the right.

The former Leeds right-back produced an excellent pass for Morgan Rogers,  who failed to connect properly.

However, the points were sealed in added time when Forss scored as the visitors moved into the top half.

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick has told his players to embrace the challenge of walking into the lion’s den at Chelsea with a place in the Carabao Cup final at stake.

Boro head coach Carrick saw his team secure a 1-0 first-leg lead at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday evening, which will send them to Stamford Bridge on January 23 with something to defend.

The Sky Bet Championship promotion hopefuls had to endure a tide of pressure on their own pitch to emerge with a clean sheet, and they can expect an onslaught on a night when a repeat would send them to Wembley.

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However Carrick, whose side lost 1-0 to Chelsea’s Premier League counterparts Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round at the weekend, said: “It’s embracing it.

“The last two games the boys have coped very, very well with Villa at the weekend and tonight, this being different because it’s obviously a lot further on in the competition and there was much more of an opportunity in this one with the expectations, the hope, the challenge that they faced.

“I couldn’t have hoped or asked for anything more. I keep saying the next one is a totally different one, it’s a new challenge totally.

“The boys will be ready for it and we’ll be ready to perform. We’ll look forward to it and embrace the challenge because it’s an unbelievable challenge and position that we find ourselves in.”

Hackney’s 37th-minute strike, which came after Isaiah Jones had made the most of Dan Barlaser’s fine through ball, ultimately settled a game in which Mauricio Pochettino’s expensively-assembled side dominated possession, but failed to make the most of the chances they created with Cole Palmer passing up no fewer than three himself.

Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo alone cost in excess of £220million, but along with Conor Gallagher, got little change out of a Boro midfield of Hackney, Barlaser and Jonny Howson to leave Carrick purring.

Asked if it was his best night yet as a manager, the 42-year-old former Manchester United and England midfielder said: !It’s as proud as I’ve been, I have to say again, of the players.

“Knowing what they’ve put in and how close a group they are and seeing the stadium supporting the lads right to the end when they needed that bit of help for the last 10 minutes or so, standing there and seeing that made me hugely proud, so it was a good night for that, a really good night for that and hopefully we can create some more of them in the future.”

Pochettino was measured after a disappointing night on Teesside, during which he admitted the Blues had been punished both for their mistakes and their profligacy in front of goal.

The Argentinian said: “I am disappointed because I think we deserved a different result, but sometimes you don’t play well and you win.

“For us, it’s like we need to play well, we need to score goals. We play well, but sometimes we are not clinical enough and sometimes we are punished. That is the process in this moment we are in.

“Always when you are building a team, this kind of scenario is tough because you not only need to play well, but you need to deserve and have some luck.”

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick believes his side had to “suffer” to earn a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Hayden Hackney capitalised on missed Chelsea chances, scoring in the 37th minute to hand Boro a valuable advantage going into the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge on January 23.

His goal came after already-depleted Boro were forced into two early changes, with Emmanuel Latte Lath and Alex Bangura taken off with injury in the opening 20 minutes.

They defended well to ensure they are now one leg away from the final of the competition they won back in 2004 and Carrick urged his side to enjoy the victory.

He said post-match: “Listen, it’s very special.

“There’s totally two sides to this one: there’s the game tonight and what we had to go through and suffer a little bit to find a way to win, and there’s obviously the fact that there’s another game.

“I have to credit the players and celebrate their performance and effort, because it’s not easy at all to beat a team like that with the quality that they’ve got and to suffer the kind of injuries that we had as well early on – as if we didn’t have enough injuries to start with.

“Tonight was a really special night, the atmosphere, Hayden scoring, it was such a good night for us, so we’ve got to take that as a one-off and enjoy that to be honest. The second leg is a whole new ball game and we know what we’re walking into and he challenges we face.”

Dan Barlaser’s long pass played Isaiah Jones in behind Levi Colwill to cross into Hackney, who stuck out a leg to stab past Djordje Petrovic.

Carrick said: “Honestly, it couldn’t happen to a nicer lad.

“He’s everything we could ever hope for in a player – he’s humble, he’s hard-working, he’s hugely talented, obviously, and great to work with.”

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino believes his side were “not clinical enough” as they wasted a trio of brilliant chances in the first half.

Cole Palmer fired wide just before Hackney put Boro ahead then had two more chances, firing over the bar after Tom Glover spilled Enzo Fernandez’s effort before failing to beat the keeper after cutting in from the right.

Pochettino said: “I think we made some mistakes in the first half and we were punished for that.

“We created big chances and we didn’t score, we were not clinical enough, that is so clear.

“We have to credit of course Middlesbrough, it’s the first 90 minutes in the first half of the tie.

“We are losing 1-0 but in two weeks we are going to have the second tie and we need to be positive we can win the game and go to the final.”

Pochettino also refuted suggestions Chelsea players had been booed off the pitch by their visiting fans.

“The fans were reacting with the fans, with Middlesbrough fans, not with our players,” he added.

“Our fans were fantastic as they support us but I think it was Thiago (Silva) and some players, what I hear is they were trying to calm our fans because I think there was a problem between the fans, not between our fans and our players.”

Mauricio Pochettino bemoaned Chelsea’s profligacy following their shock 1-0 loss at Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

The Premier League side dominated at the Riverside Stadium but squandered a host of chances, with Cole Palmer particularly wasteful.

Hayden Hackney’s first-half goal earned the Sky Bet Championship hosts a slender advantage ahead of the return meeting at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time.

“We had too many chances to score where we didn’t score – that is football,” Blues boss Pochettino told Sky Sports.

“Of course we are disappointed. It is the first half of the tie. We have another 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge and we have to be positive.

“We made some mistakes and we were punished for that.”

Some of Chelsea’s travelling fans reacted angrily to the defeat at full-time.

“If we assess the performance, overall we were the better side, we create more chances, we have clear chances,” continued Pochettino.

“But we didn’t score and we were not clinical and that has happened a lot this season – so many games we didn’t win because we weren’t clinical enough.”

Chelsea striker Cole Palmer squandered a hat-trick of chances as Hayden Hackney handed Sky Bet Championship Middlesbrough a priceless first-leg lead in their Carabao Cup semi-final.

The England international, who had earlier been denied by Boro keeper Tom Glover, passed up three opportunities either side of Hackney’s 37th-minute strike, which ensured Michael Carrick’s men will head for Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time with a 1-0 lead.

On a night when the 2004 winners managed to frustrate the side who beat them in the 1998 final for long periods, the big-spending Premier League club failed to find top gear despite boss Mauricio Pochettino naming Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling and Palmer in a strong starting line-up.

For their part, the Teessiders were organised, dogged and a threat on the break, and reaped the rewards three days after suffering a heartbreaking late defeat by top-flight Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

The visitors’ goal came under threat within seconds of kick-off when Colwill’s poorly-directed header delivered the ball straight into the path of Emmanuel Latte Lath, although the striker scuffed his shot straight at keeper Djordje Petrovic as defender Axel Disasi tried desperately to close him down and caught him in his follow-through.

The Boro frontman struggled on after treatment, but eventually limped off to be replaced by Josh Coburn with just five minutes gone.

Palmer forced Glover into a full-length save as Chelsea responded, but with widemen Isaiah Jones and Alex Bangura – whose evening was ended prematurely minutes later by a hamstring injury – enjoying the space afforded to them, the Teessiders made early inroads.

The occasional flurry from Noni Madueke aside, neither team was able to create a chance of note until Colwill headed over from Palmer’s 29th-minute cross, but Jonny Howson was fortunate to get away with a dreadful crossfield pass which put Palmer in on goal two minutes later, only for the 21-year-old to drag his shot wastefully wide.

Chelsea were made to pay with eight minutes of the first half remaining when Dan Barlaser played Jones in behind Colwill and he crossed to Hackney at the near post to stab past Petrovic.

Palmer had two glorious opportunities to level in stoppage time when he spooned the ball over the top after Glover had spilled Enzo Fernandez’s shot from distance, and then failed to beat the keeper after cutting inside from the right.

The visitors remained patient on their return but largely played in front of Boro, who looked comfortable in their shape as they protected a precious advantage with little fuss.

Madueke headed straight at Glover from Fernandez’s 53rd-minute cross and then flashed the ball dangerously across goal after worming his way in from the right, and Gallagher fired wide on the turn eight minutes later amid relentless pressure.

Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja were introduced with little sign of an equaliser imminent and after Barlaser had shot high and wide from a pacy counter-attack, Glover needed two attempts to collect Mudryk’s 73rd-minute attempt.

However, that was as good as it got for Pochettino’s misfiring side, who have work to do on home soil in the deciding leg.

Mauricio Pochettino urged his Chelsea players to free themselves of the burden of needing to reach the Carabao Cup final and instead prioritise enjoying Tuesday’s semi-final first leg against Middlesbrough.

The game at the Riverside could see Pochettino’s team put one foot in the club’s first major final since 2021 and place them on course to crown the manager’s first season in charge with silverware.

Chelsea have endured a disjointed six months since the Argentinian was appointed, with an expensively-assembled squad taking longer than hoped to acclimatise to new surroundings.

Pochettino fielded the club’s youngest-ever Premier League starting XI during the 2-1 home win against Crystal Palace in December, with an average age of just over 23, and a lack of senior experience has seemingly been a factor in the team being slow to find its groove.

Michael Carrick’s Boro are currently 12th in the Championship, two places above Preston who lost 4-0 at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

Chelsea were slow to ignite against second-tier opposition, taking until the 58th minute to break the deadlock after a solid first half that yielded few chances.

Pochettino warned against a similarly languid start on Tuesday night, but gave his young side licence to find the joy in the occasion.

“The most important thing is we need to enjoy the semi-final, not to feel like it’s compulsory for us to be in the final,” he said. “Football is not about that. You cannot play if you feel pressure and you don’t feel fresh in your mind.

“If you feel it’s compulsory (to win), always with some restriction – you need to take the semi-final as a great opportunity to enjoy playing football, performing well, running, being aggressive, being all together. Not to feel it’s compulsory to go to the final. You start to limit yourself.”

Chelsea have won four of their last five games in all competitions including the penalty shoot-out victory against Newcastle in December that set up Tuesday’s meeting on Teesside.

Pochettino hopes victory in the Carabao Cup final on February 25 could help engineer the chemistry the club need in order to succeed.

“One of the most important things is to create this chemistry between us (club staff),” he said. “We are maybe 120 people (at the club) seeing us every single day, it’s so important to work well together.

“And then the players, they need to trust. Always it’s a process. When there are so many new players on the team, in some ways it’s good, but it’s also about creating a chemistry. That is not easy. We need time.

“We don’t know if it’s two or three months, or six months or one season.

“We need to feel the trust, feel the confidence, to care for your team-mate. You are going to be there if something goes wrong.”

Pochettino added he does not see his apparent lack of aggression in the dugout or before the media as a problem as he seeks to improve his team’s competitiveness.

“One (important) thing is to be polite, empathise with people,” he said. “I don’t need to be aggressive. Why do I need to be aggressive? I don’t need to act.

“How you are as a coach, you translate your stamina, translate the way you want to play, you are aggressive during training sessions, in the way you approach players in the meetings. It doesn’t mean that after, outside, you have to be the same way.”

Mauricio Pochettino warned his Chelsea players they will come unstuck in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Middlesbrough if they begin the game as they did Saturday’s FA Cup meeting with Preston.

The Sky Bet Championship side did a comfortable job of containing the Blues during the first half at Stamford Bridge, with the hosts displaying little attacking threat against a team currently 14th in the second tier, before clicking into gear after the break to claim a 4-0 win.

Three goals in 11 second-half minutes from Armando Broja, Thiago Silva and Raheem Sterling ultimately broke the resolve of Ryan Lowe’s side, before Enzo Fernandez added a fourth in the final moments.

It was a far cry from the stolid performance given in the first 45 minutes, with home supporters forced to endure another listless display in the final third, where Chelsea’s build-up play typically broke down.

And Pochettino said a repeat performance at the Riverside against Michael Carrick’s team on Tuesday could see his side miss out on the opportunity to claim their first trophy since 2021.

“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “Middlesbrough is a very good team that we need to respect. (Saturday) was a great example that we need to respect the opponent if we want to beat them.

“If we start the game like (against Preston), we will find it difficult. We need to use this as an example that we need to start like we played the second half.

“We need to be respectful, not to approach the game showing not the right attitude. (The first half) upset me, but the players were disappointed also at half-time. The attitude was completely different in the second half.”

Chelsea last lifted silverware in December 2021 when they beat Brazilian side Palmeiras to win the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, seven months after victory in the Champions League final against Manchester City in Porto.

Pochettino said he is not allowing his players to think about the Carabao Cup final at Wembley while there is still a final hurdle to clear.

“I don’t want to think on (the final),” he said. “I prefer to think only about Middlesbrough. I know that it’s important for the club and for this team because it’s going to be a boost of energy if we get to the final.

“But we need to go step by step because if we think too much long-term, even if it’s only two months, I think we will expend energy and we will be not right.

“What the group needs is to build their confidence step by step. (Saturday) is a good example, in a good way but also not in a good way. We need to realise that on Tuesday we need to play 90 minutes like we played in the second half.”

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick is hopeful his side can take the “positive experiences” from their FA Cup third-round loss into their Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Boro were knocked out of the FA Cup by Matty Cash’s late strike in the 87th minute, which took a deflection into the bottom corner.

However, Boro’s attention quickly turns to the Carabao Cup, where they come up against Premier League Chelsea at the Riverside on Tuesday and Carrick hopes his players can take inspiration from their performance against Aston Villa.

He said post-match: “The boys are disappointed, which is good that they’re disappointed.

“It’s not an acceptance of ‘we’ve got beat’, it shows to me, more importantly, how much they felt they were right in the game. That’ll help us.

“We’ve got a lot of young boys in there that are learning, developing and experiences like that and the positive experiences we’ll take from it are no end for Tuesday hopefully and to the end of the season.”

Two games against Chelsea stand in the way of Boro reaching the final of the Carabao Cup, which they won in 2004, and Carrick insists his side are already relishing the test against the Blues.

“I won’t have to lift them (for the Chelsea match),” he added.

“It’s a huge game for us obviously, for each individual it’s a massive game, but for us collectively it’s a massive game.

“There won’t be any issues with recovery or motivation, my job’s already done for that one, they’ve done it themselves by getting into a semi-final.

“It’s a different game completely in terms of tactically and the dangers Chelsea have got, we’ll obviously have to adapt and look forward to that.

“They’re dangerous, at any point they can change a game, we know that.”

The 1-0 victory on Saturday night saw Aston Villa break their poor FA Cup run to progress to the fourth round for the first time since 2016.

Their best chances came from a succession of corners in the second half where goalkeeper Tom Glover pulled off an excellent save to deny John McGinn before Ezri Konsa’s header smashed off the inside of the post and Alex Moreno blasted the ball over the bar from close range.

The winning moment fell to Cash who struck from outside of the box to beat Glover and he revealed it was something he had worked on in training.

He told VillaTV: “I think I’ve worked closely on it in training, out of the box shooting and trying to keep the ball on target, and that’s all you can do.

“Obviously got a lucky deflection but I’m delighted it’s gone in, I’m really happy to get a goal.

“Since I’ve been here I haven’t progressed through to the next round, we made it clear before the game we wanted to do that and we’re obviously delighted to get into the fourth round.”

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery hailed his side’s mentality as they beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in their third-round FA Cup clash at the Riverside.

The Premier League high-flyers reached the fourth round thanks to Matty Cash’s deflected winner in the 87th minute.

Villa had chances in the first half from Jhon Duran and Leander Dendoncker before threatening in the first 15 minutes of the second half as John McGinn, Ezri Konsa and Alex Moreno all came close from a succession of corners.

Cash eventually sent them through to the next round from a short corner in the final stages and Emery praised the maturity in his team to push for the winner.

“We played big passions, being mature, I think we are growing up our mentality in matches like that,” Emery said.

“At the beginning we were favourite to win, but difficult to face each match.

“They prepared and tactically they played a very good match and even when they were keeping more possession on the transition they threatened us.

“We were always in control of the game and even the 15 minute, 20 minutes in the second half they were in that moment in control of the game better than us, after we had the three chances in the first 15 minutes of the second half.

“We were being passionate and trying to keep in our mind our gameplan and after that moment we reacted again, we pushed in the last minute because we took two or three chances and we scored one of them.”

Villa were dumped out of the FA Cup by Stevenage in the third round last season, and Emery revealed his side had spoken about their history of the competition ahead of the Boro clash.

“We were speaking before the match about the FA Cup, a very historic cup competition, maybe the best cup competition in the world,” Emery added.

“We’re speaking about our players, how much they were successful in this competition – not a lot! Only Emiliano (Martinez) and Calum Chambers won with Arsenal.

“A long time Aston Villa was successful in this competition with seven titles.

“Of course we are here trying to do another step ahead in this club, trying to play facing different competition and trying to be contending to get something.”

Carabao Cup semi-finalists Middlesbrough missed out on another cup run, but still had their opportunities in the game as Alex Bangura created some good chances and Morgan Rogers tested Martinez.

Cash’s late strike came as a cruel blow to Michael Carrick’s side, who had defended well throughout, but the Boro boss was “so proud” of their performance.

He said: “I thought the whole game, to be honest, was good. Really happy with them at half-time.

“They had a little bit more of the game in some ways second half, but I thought in general in the circumstances against the team we were playing against, I thought they were fantastic, the lads, I’m so proud of them.

“Tactically they were spot on in terms of their discipline, concentration, we played some good football at times to play that pressure and we probably had more opportunities to create chances than actually the chances themselves but we definitely looked dangerous enough in the game.

“Disappointed not to get anything from it really.”

Matty Cash’s late winner saw Aston Villa progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup as they beat Middlesbrough 1-0.

Carabao Cup semi-finalists Boro were denied another cup run when Cash’s deflected strike found the bottom corner in the 87th minute.

The Premier League side had threatened from corners in the second half and a set-piece ultimately proved to be Boro’s undoing as Unai Emery’s side prevailed.

The first chance of the contest fell to Villa when Boubacar Kamara flicked the ball to Jhon Duran, who cut in from the left and fired towards the bottom corner but goalkeeper Tom Glover stuck out a leg to turn the ball behind.

The visitors grew into the game and Alex Moreno caused problems with some dangerous crosses, one finding Cash who smashed the ball into the crowded Boro box.

Alex Bangura tried to catch Villa on the break with some good balls through to Josh Coburn and posed a threat after latching on to a great cross-field ball, but Villa were able to clear.

The game suddenly sprung into life in the 32nd minute when Jacob Ramsey’s powerful shot was deflected over the bar and Leander Dendoncker narrowly headed over from the resulting corner.

Duran then forced a great save from Glover and Boro raced up the other end of the pitch as Dan Barlaser threaded the ball to Morgan Rogers, but Emiliano Martinez managed to palm it away for a corner.

The hosts had a great chance just on the cusp of half-time as Bangura fired a dangerous cross across the box, but neither Coburn nor Isaiah Jones could stab home.

A frenetic opening to the second half saw Glover make a fantastic save just four minutes in as a short corner allowed John McGinn to unleash a powerful strike on the edge of the box, but the goalkeeper tipped the ball over the crossbar.

Villa threatened again from corners in the 52nd minute as Ezri Konsa’s header smashed off the inside of the far post and another set-piece one minute later saw Moreno blast the ball over the bar from close range.

They had a penalty shout waved away when Moreno went down in the box and Boro began to threaten at the other end as Clement Lenglet made a fantastic slide to deny Jones’ cross.

The Villa defence were forced to clear a number of balls fired into the box and manager Emery responded with a quadruple change in the 70th minute, bringing on Ollie Watkins, Moussa Diaby, Douglas Luiz and Nicolo Zaniolo.

Emmanuel Latte Lath did well to flick Douglas Luiz’s free-kick behind and the Boro forward was soon involved at the other end of the pitch as Martinez smothered his run from the left.

Diaby had a great chance in the Boro box but scuffed his shot before Martinez was called into action again to hold Rogers’ cross.

Villa struck in the 87th minute as another short corner fell to Cash outside the box and his effort took a deflection off Latte Lath to beat Glover and send Villa through.

Mark Robins is delighted to see Tatsuhiro Sakamoto now delivering on the promise he has shown since joining Coventry after continuing his rich recent scoring form with a brace in City’s 3-1 comeback win at Middlesbrough.

Sakamoto joined Coventry from Oostende last summer, but the Japanese winger failed to score in his first 13 matches for the club.

His performance levels were good though, and Robins always felt it was only a matter of time before things started clicking for the 27-year-old in front of goal.

Sure enough, Sakamoto has now netted five times in his last four matches, with his double at the Riverside helping to secure a win that lifted Coventry to within three points of the play-off places in the Sky Bet Championship.

Robins said: “He’s been really good, and the confidence is coming. We’ve been waiting for it. He’s got the ability, and now he’s got the confidence and belief too.

“That’s really good for us, and really good for him. He also creates. He’s technically outstanding, and to get through the games that he has done is a real credit to him.”

Sakamoto won two international caps in 2021, but was not named in the Japan squad for the upcoming Asian Cup, meaning he can continue to play for Coventry this month.

That is a relief to Robins, although if the winger continues to perform as he has in the last few weeks, an international recall could well be in the offing.

Robins said: “They’ve got some really good players. The Japanese are outstanding, you could see that in the World Cup last year.

“They’ve got some excellent players, and there’s more and more of them playing in Europe and the UK. Tatsu is a brilliant outlet for us, and you can see the connections that are being made and that he’s starting to form. That’s pleasing for us for the second half of the season.”

Middlesbrough were without 13 senior players because of injury or call-ups to either the Asian Cup or Africa Cup of Nations, and having established a first-half lead through Josh Coburn, Michael Carrick admitted his side ran out of steam as Coventry dominated in the second half.

Carrick said: “I think it’s understandable. It felt like the tank just emptied at the wrong time for us today, in terms of their energy.

“I can’t fault them. It’s such a small pool of players we’ve had to pick from a patch-up game to game over recent weeks. It probably just caught up with us at the wrong time today because first half I thought we were fantastic.

“I thought we played some fabulous football and should have, could have, been up at half-time. In the end, they are a good team, they’re dangerous and they’re on a good run as well.”

Coventry’s climb towards the Sky Bet Championship play-off places continued as they claimed a 3-1 win at Middlesbrough.

The Sky Blues beat Boro in last season’s play-off semi-finals, and they enjoyed another successful day at the Riverside thanks to a double from the in-form Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and a close-range finish from Haji Wright.

Josh Coburn opened the scoring for Middlesbrough in the first half, but the hosts were unable to make the most of their early superiority as Coventry stretched their unbeaten run to seven matches.

Middlesbrough went into the game on the back of a morale-boosting win at Huddersfield on Friday night, and Michael Carrick’s side dominated the early exchanges, carving out a succession of good chances.

Isaiah Jones must have thought he had scored when he raced on to Morgan Rogers’ fourth-minute through ball and rounded goalkeeper Brad Collins, but while his shot from an acute angle was heading in, back-tracking centre-half Bobby Thomas produced a superb flicked clearance as he raced towards his own goalline.

Jones had another decent effort blocked by Jake Bidwell a few minutes later, before Collins denied Sam Greenwood with a scrambled save down to his left. The ball broke to Rogers, but his follow-up effort was blocked by a combination of the Coventry goalkeeper and Luis Binks.

It felt like only a matter of time before Boro scored, and the deadlock was duly broken in the 31st minute.

Jones crossed from the right-hand side, and having been restored to the starting line-up after scoring as a substitute at Huddersfield, Coburn made it two goals in four days with a powerful header.

Coventry had not threatened at all at that stage, but just four minutes after falling behind, the visitors struck back to equalise.

Thomas’ header from a corner was saved by Tom Glover, but Lukas Engel’s clearance only found Sakamoto, and the Japanese winger threaded a fine low finish through a crowded box.

Collins made good saves from Greenwood and Engel to keep the scores level at the break, and Coventry should have claimed the lead when Ellis Simms hooked over from the edge of the six-yard box in the early stages of the second half.

A minute later, however, and the Sky Blues were celebrating making it 2-1. Simms’ shot from Callum O’Hare’s cross was saved by Glover, but when the ball rebounded to the striker, he slipped a square pass to Wright, who was left with the simple task of tapping home from close range.

Coventry were much the better side in the second half, and they added a third goal in the 69th minute.

Bidwell crossed from close to the byline, and Sakamoto stole in at the back post to net his second goal of the game with a close-range header.

Sakamoto almost claimed a hat-trick with 10 minutes remaining, but his low shot from inside the area cannoned against the base of the post.

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick hailed the “unbelievable” spirit of his players after the 2-1 victory over Huddersfield at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Both sides missed easy chances in the first period, with Boro’s Isaiah Jones miskicking the ball two yards in front of an open net before Town’s Josh Koroma crashed off the crossbar after rounding the goalkeeper.

Second-half substitute Josh Coburn lifted over Jacob Chapman to put Boro in front but the home side were not behind for long as Michal Helik’s strike from the edge of the box made it 1-1.

Boro had the chance to win it late on from the penalty spot but Jonny Howson saw it saved by Chapman only for him to redeem himself and net the winner moments later.

Carrick said: “It’s not the perfect way or ideal way to go about it but sometimes you have got to find a way.

“The spirit is unbelievable in the group with the staff and backroom staff. It’s an effort from everywhere, a lot of clubs have injuries as well, it’s something you have to deal with and accept to a point.

“As we are in the league now, come the end of the year with everything to play for in the cup so there is a lot to be pleased about but still a lot of work to do for sure.”

Carrick was happy to see Howson net the winner just a minute after his spot-kick was saved.

He added: “It was a hell of a save to be fair from the goalkeeper, sometimes there are good penalties and bad penalties but it’s a hell of a save.

“You can see the emotion on Jonny’s face, what it meant to him and to everyone and celebrations were ramped up by the fact he missed the penalty.

“Sometimes it’s quite nice to win like that, really digging and fighting and Jonny showed that moment. It was one of those games that didn’t really come easy for us really.

“It was a slog, a grind, bit chaotic with chances at both ends and I said at half-time ‘if it is going to be one of them games then make sure we win the battle’.

“To be fair to the boys they all chipped in in different ways and I’m delighted with the result.”

Huddersfield boss Darren Moore felt his side did not deserve to lose.

He said: “I said to the boys to keep their heads up really because what’s doing Huddersfield is small lapses of concentration but credit to the players for the performance.

“It’s fine margins that split the difference and that’s what’s done us in the end tonight really. I’m encouraged because the performances are there so the results won’t be too far away.

“It’s a hard one to take but we have to take the positives from the game and take it forward.”