IF Middlesbrough are not in Europe next season then the full effect of last night's defeat may not be felt until the UEFA Cup fixtures are announced.

Boro may be on the crest of a wave, rubbing shoulders with the great and good at the top end of the Premiership, but their grip on the Carling Cup is gone and that is going to be hard to take for most on Teesside.

The victory over Bolton in February, wildly celebrated in a town which went 128 years without a trophy, can be consigned to the history books because there will be new holders of the League Cup in 2005.

It's not just the glory of that win in Cardiff that has ignited football passions on Teesside. The club's introduction to European competition has been exhilarating - nobody could have dared hope for such an immediately successful impact.

Three wins in four matches, including the memorable thumping of once-mighty Italian side Lazio seven days ago, represents a great start to life alongside some of the best the continent can offer.

The party has just started and nobody at Boro wants it to stop, but there will be no more 3-0 wins over crack continental outfits in front of packed houses unless Boro can find a way of re-entering European competition. If they do though it won't be through the League Cup.

If the club want a repeat show next season then victories over Liverpool 'reserves' become as important as any cup final.

The FA Cup and the Premiership offer viable routes into Europe for Steve McClaren's men but no clubs, aside from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, can pick and choose their way on to such a prestigious stage.

Last night's match, therefore, presented a great opportunity to progress to the quarter-finals, especially with Liverpool fielding a side showing nine changes from the team that lost to Birmingham on Saturday.

Middlesbrough also made alterations to their regular line-up but with the likes of Bolo Zenden, Stewart Downing and Mark Viduka in the ranks Boro should have had enough to provide the hosts with a tough game. But Liverpool bossed the first half and from the heart of midfield Igor Biscan twice came close with long-range efforts, while Neil Mellor wasted their best chance in the first 45, heading over Stephen Warnock's left-wing cross. Zenden did get the ball in the net, only to see it harshly chalked off for offside.

Neither side looked like scoring until Mellor's second-half brace fired Liverpool to the last eight and dumped Boro out.

The reality is that while their League Cup Final win has elevated the club's status and given them a taste of what Europe has to offer the Teessiders must maintain a place among the Premiership's top ten if this new-found level of superiority is not just to be a flash in the pan.

Of course one way to guarantee the fairytale continues is to go out and win the UEFA Cup.

There won't be many on Teesside betting against it.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.