Cardiff, West Brom reach semi-finals

The FA Cup will boast one Premier League side in the last four after Cardiff City continued a weekend of shocks by beating Middlesbrough 2-0 yesterday.

First-half goals from Peter Whittingham and Roger Johnson handed the Championship side a deserved win at the Riverside and a place in the semi-finals alongside Portsmouth, Barnsley and five-times winners West Brom, who last lifted the trophy in 1968.

The last time there was only one top-flight team in the FA Cup semi-finals was 1908.

West Brom restored some order to the competition after the Championship promotion challengers ended the run of League One outfit Bristol Rovers with a 5-1 victory, Ishmael Miller hitting a hat-trick.

On Saturday, Barnsley stunned holders Chelsea with a 1-0 win at Oakwell while Portsmouth ousted Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Portsmouth are now favourites to win a second FA Cup, 69 years after their first triumph. Cardiff are the only non-English FA Cup winners after lifting the trophy in 1927 and manager Dave Jones said he hoped his modern-day side could achieve their own slice of history.

"It's important for us as a football club. I get it rammed down my throat... 1927 every time... so we're trying to make our own history, and these boys deserve it," Jones told BBC Sport.

Cardiff rocked Middlesbrough by taking a ninth-minute lead - Whittingham producing some trickery inside the box before unleashing a shot into the top right hand corner past a flailing Mark Schwarzer.

Whittingham then turned provider as the Welsh side doubled their lead on 22 minutes. His free-kick from the left was missed by all of Boro's static defenders who failed to pick up Johnson's run and the defender scored with a well-placed diving header.

James Morrison fired West Brom ahead after 16 minutes against Bristol Rovers, slotting in after keeper Steve Phillips had parried a shot into his path.

Miller hammered in a second on the half-hour before Rovers got one back immediately through Danny Coles.

Miller poked in to make it 3-1, substitute Kevin Phillips got a fourth and Miller completed his hat-trick in a one-sided second half.

The draw for the semi-finals is today.