Chelsea fans probably did not expect their expensively assembled team to be tortured by a right-winger who cost Middlesbrough a nominal fee when he made the step up from Tooting and Mitcham five years ago.
Yet Isaiah Jones is a special talent who, quite apart from destabilising Levi Colwill, created the goal scored by Hayden Hackney that left the Riverside celebrating like it was 2004.
That winner on the night means Michael Carrick’s mid-table Championship side will arrive at Stamford Bridge for the second leg of this semi-final in a fortnight’s time protecting a potentially vital lead.
Although Mauricio Pochettino’s Premier League underachievers remain firm favourites, Boro’s hopes of repeating their feat of 20 years and emulating Steve McClaren’s class of 2004 by winning the League Cup are far from extinguished. Chelsea will certainly be unwise to underestimate Jones, the excellent midfielder Dan Barlaser and company for a second time.
Chelsea arrived without 10 injured senior players while their hosts had 12 absentees, and that Teesside casualty list swiftly increased when Emmanuel Latte Lath was helped off after only five minutes.
Carrick’s main striker had been hurt by a contentious late challenge from Axel Disasi after intercepting Colwill’s slapdash header and threatening to score within the first minute.
Had VAR been in use, it is possible Latte Lath might have won a penalty when he was caught by Disasi seconds after the shot he had ultimately directed straight at Djordje Petrovic left his boot.
When the home left wing-back Alex Bangura then hobbled off in the 20th minute, Carrick must have felt it was not to be his night.
That piece of misfortune proved the cue for Boro’s manager to switch from an initial back three to a back four. It was a revamp that would not have happened had Bangura stayed fit but it, albeit inadvertently, proved pivotal.
The main beneficiary was the gifted Jones who, to Colwill’s considerable discomfiture, morphed from wing-back to right winger from where he proceeded to frequently unnerve his marker. Once Chelsea’s left-back needed to watch his step after collecting a booking for sending Jones crashing in the 30th minute, the Teessiders sensed hope.
With Barlaser delivering some decent through passes from central midfield, Boro were holding their own but lived dangerously when Tom Glover, Carrick’s second-choice goalkeeper, got away with a nervy punch before Conor Gallagher volleyed over the bar.
Pochettino had opted not to field a conventional central striker, instead handing that role to Cole Palmer, supported by Gallagher’s on-rushing presence just behind him. Palmer should have opened the scoring following a dreadful mistake by Jonny Howson, but the ball fell to his left foot and he instead directed the shot wide.
Not to be outdone, Hackney almost immediately dragged another effort slightly off target at the opposite end. Little did Chelsea know that the midfielder was merely warming up before propelling Boro into the lead.
Colwill had no answer to Jones’s rapid change of pace after meeting a glorious pass from Barlaser and, having outmanoeuvred his marker with ease, the right winger crossed low for the on-rushing Hackney to side-foot Boro into a 37th-minute lead from the edge of the six-yard box.
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If Jones had relished reminding everyone that Colwill is really a central defender, it represented quite a moment for the Redcar-born Hackney, who joined Boro’s academy at the age of nine.
Palmer should have restored parity before half-time but, when Glover could not hold Enzo Fernández’s 25-yard shot, he instead volleyed over the bar from close range.
Chelsea attempted to increase the second-half pressure but they rarely achieved the sort of intensity Pochettino craved. With Barlaser and company all too frequently able to disrupt their rhythm and prevent the visitors settling into anything like an assured passing groove, there were regular concessions of possession and Jones remained a dangerous attacking outlet for Carrick.
Admittedly there were plenty of moments when the Championship side lived a little dangerously but Carrick must have been delighted by the number of tackles won by his team.
Boro were playing with just the right balance between measured intelligence and full-on commitment but they still had reason for relief when Fernández crossed superbly for the sporadically menacing Noni Madueke to force a decent save from Glover.
When Malo Gusto crossed and Gallagher’s swivel wrong-footed Dael Fry, an equaliser beckoned but Gallagher directed his ensuing shot wide and Pochettino decided it was time to introduce the attacking cavalry.
On came Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja for Fernández and Madueke, with some Chelsea fans seemingly puzzled by the latter’s withdrawal and their manager’s decision to leave the less effective Raheem Sterling on the pitch.
From then on Chelsea pushed hard for an equaliser but a Boro side only four points off a second-tier playoff place defended magnificently and even had their moments on the counter-attack. While Barlaser sent a rising shot narrowly over the bar only a fine interception on the part of Thiago Silva denied Josh Coburn.
