Middlesbrough midfielder Jonny Howson makes honest admission after FA Cup defeat

Jonny Howson believes the defeat to Chelsea should be viewed as a positive a learning experience that will stand Middlesbrough in good stead in the final run-in for the season. 

Whilst admitting defeat was disappointing, Howson acknowledged that there plenty of positives for Middlesbrough to take from their FA Cup exit.

Boro had knocked Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur out of the cup in previous rounds and presented a genuine challenge Chelsea needed to be in top gear to overcome.

Two goals in the opening 30 minutes though proved to be too much to overcome for Middlesbrough, but that didn’t stop Howson taking the positives from the game, as he told Teeside Live: “We’re disappointed, it’s never nice to lose no matter who you play.

“But we’ll look back with a lot of pride, we’ve created memories and put in some great performances.

“For our younger lads, it’s all great experience. Some of us older ones have played against Premier League teams in the past but our young players should be striving to achieve that and look at the likes of Kante, Werner and Lukaku.

Further to that, Howson sees the positives of the defeat: “That’s what you have to aim for and there’s a lot you can take from that. You don’t come up against much better players than that. We’re obviously disappointed but there’s a lot we can take from it.”

The Verdict

Howson is right to see the positives of the defeat. Obviously, it’s frustrating to be able to get to the next round and a trip to Wembley but it should give Wilder’s side the extra push they need to get into the playoffs.

There has been some inconsistent form of late, perhaps the FA Cup has been a distraction but now that isn’t the case, they can really focus on trying to win promotion.

This run