WHATEVER you might say about this Middlesbrough side, and their occasional lack of attacking ambition, you cannot question their attitude or resilience.

For almost an hour, this was a game that followed the same uneventful pattern as last Monday’s desperate draw with Leicester City. Then, in a frantic final half-hour, the Teessiders dug deep and rediscovered their counter-attacking capabilities as they scored three goals without reply to book a place in the FA Cup fourth round for only the second time in the last four seasons.

That they did it with only ten men, following the controversial dismissal of defender Daniel Ayala, was especially commendable. Ayala was sent off for a clumsy rather than violent foul on Fernando Forestieri within a minute of Grant Leadbitter firing Boro into the lead, yet rather than putting Aitor Karanka’s side onto the back foot, the numerical disadvantage served to loosen their shackles.

Alvaro Negredo’s persistence was rewarded as he charged down goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith’s hurried clearance to claim Boro’s second, and an ultimately convincing victory was sealed in the first minute of stoppage time as Marten de Roon seized on a rebound in the area to hammer home his third goal since a summer move from Atalanta.

Sheffield Wednesday grew increasingly frantic as they tried to make their extra man tell, but their attacking foundered on some typically effective Boro resistance. Bernardo Espinosa, who was recalled in place of Ben Gibson, was superb for the second game in a row. Obstinate at Old Trafford, he was every bit as defensively secure here.

Calum Chambers moved alongside Bernardo after Ayala’s dismissal, and with Leadbitter plugging the gaps at the base of midfield as Sheffield Wednesday tried to provide some support to Steven Fletcher, Boro’s lead was never seriously threatened.

Brad Guzan made a couple of routine saves to confirm his side’s third clean sheet in the last five matches, but if anything, it was the hosts who were the more threatening proposition after they were reduced to ten men. With the visitors throwing men forward, Boro were able to pick them off at will on the break.

It seems a strange thing to say, but Ayala’s dismissal was the moment that conclusively tilted things in the home side’s favour. Whereas Boro were rigid and formulaic during a desperately dull opening 58 minutes, they improved markedly once the game lost its structure. Forced to adapt his initial game plan, Karanka stumbled upon an approach that afforded his attacking players a much greater degree of freedom.

Sheffield Wednesday’s attempts to throw caution to the wind undoubtedly aided Boro’s attacking revival, but this was a timely reminder that Karanka possesses players capable of making an impact in the final third. Enabling them to prove as effective when the opposition is less carefree is the head coach’s biggest challenge.

Boro’s attackers were frustrated figures throughout the first half, with the home side’s only effort on goal coming courtesy of a half-volley from Ayala that sailed over the crossbar.

For almost an hour, nothing of interest happened. Then in the space of 60 breathless second-half seconds, Boro found themselves a goal to the good, but with a man off the field.

The goal came first, with Leadbitter celebrating his second success in the space of three matches since returning to the team.

The Boro skipper, who celebrated his 31st birthday on Saturday, was something of a set-piece specialist as his side won promotion from the Championship, and he was at it again as he took full  advantage of Barry Bannan’s crass foul on de Roon. Stepping up from 22 yards, Leadbitter curled a precise low finish into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

It was a goal completely out of keeping with the lack of incident that preceded it, but any thoughts of it paving the way for a routine win disappeared within a minute as Ayala was controversially dismissed.

The centre-half was certainly over-zealous as he barged Forestieri out of the way as the Sheffield Wednesday forward tried to surge past him, but while he caught his opponent in the neck, it was not as though he went into the challenge with his elbow.

Similarly, while Forestieri might have been breaking into the area, there were plenty of other defenders around Ayala who could have got back to challenge him.

A foul? Definitely. A yellow card? Quite possibly. But worthy of the straight red that was delivered by referee David Coote? If this was to be Ayala’s final act in a Middlesbrough shirt, with suggestions of a January move intensifying, he was extremely harshly treated.

Karanka responded with a double change that saw Fabio bolstering the back four and Stewart Downing adding some extra creativity to midfield, and rather than retreating into their shell, the hosts upped their attacking tempo.

Having spotted Wildsmith off his line, Leadbitter almost claimed a second goal with an impudent 40-yard free-kick that floated inches over the crossbar.

That was almost an embarrassment for the visiting keeper, but much worse was to follow a minute later. Wildsmith, who only turned 21 last month, took a heavy touch as he dealt with Daniel Pudil’s back-pass, and his hurried clearance cannoned off Negredo, who was committedly closing the ball down.

The rebound found the empty net, handing Negredo his sixth goal of the season and affording Boro some welcome breathing space.

With plenty of space to exploit on the counter-attack, Cristhian Stuani rightly had an 80th-minute effort disallowed for offside.

Sheffield Wednesday finished the game playing with a 4-2-4 formation, but while Guzan claimed David Jones’ header and kept out Forestieri’s long-range curled shot, Boro’s clean sheet was never seriously threatened.

Instead, the hosts struck again to confirm their victory in the first minute of stoppage time. Wildsmith produced a fine save to keep out Stuani’s fiercely-driven shot, but the ball rebounded kindly for de Roon to hammer a low strike into the left-hand corner.