FOR Gareth Southgate and Cardiff City in 2008, read Tony Pulis and Burton Albion in 2018. Just as Southgate’s managerial reign at Riverside is blighted by the memory of an FA Cup quarter-final defeat to lower-league opposition, so Pulis has now suffered a similar fate in the last eight of the League Cup. Whatever else the current Boro boss goes on to achieve on Teesside, this will be remembered as the one that got away.

Defeat to a Burton side sitting in 15th position in League One was unexpected, but it was not undeserved. Boro were dreadful for the most part, devoid of creativity, pace and any kind of attacking incision. They have now scored five goals in their last nine home matches, a record that will surely scupper any hopes of winning promotion if it is not rectified.

Pulis will talk of the need to reinforce in January, and he has a point. But the harsh truth is this Boro side should not be failing to trouble the scorers against a side from the lower reaches of League One.

The Teessiders got away with a lack of attacking finesse in the early weeks of the season because they were keeping a succession of clean sheets. As the goals have begun to leak, so their failings in the final third have become glaringly apparent.

Burton goalkeeper Bradley Collins made decent first-half saves from Jordan Hugill and Stewart Downing, but the fact he was not extended at all in the second period says everything about the toothless nature of Boro’s display. When Aden Flint headed wide from three yards out with six minutes left, the die was cast.

As a result, Jake Hesketh’s 48th-minute strike took Burton into their first major semi-final, and enabled their manager, Nigel Clough, to enjoy a magical night in the town of his father’s birth.

From a Teesside perspective, it was an evening that conclusively failed to live up to its billing. A crowd of just over 17,000 hardly smacked of cup fever, and Boro’s players never really looked like they were just two rounds away from Wembley.

Pulis named a relatively strong starting line-up, but the six alterations from the side that lost at QPR last weekend did not work. The recall of Martin Braithwaite for his first start in six matches proved especially ineffectual, with the Danish forward finding himself booed off when he was eventually replaced with 19 minutes left.

Having had a transfer request rejected in the summer, Braithwaite has had the air of a player marking time for most of the last four months, and both he and Pulis would probably agree that a January departure would be best for all concerned.

The problem is the £9m price tag that accompanied the Dane to the Riverside, and that Steve Gibson will want to see matched if Braithwaite is to leave permanently next month. If that does not happen, what has become a largely loveless marriage will continue.

Pulis has clearly decided that he can no longer rely on the 27-year-old, and while it would be unfair to accuse Braithwaite of not trying, his game definitely lacks the zip and panache that were apparent when he was finding the net in the early weeks of the season.

Having broken beyond the Burton defence in the early stages of last night’s game, latching on to a deft forward pass from Dael Fry, his square ball across the area was hit marginally too hard for a stretching Hugill. Half-an-hour later, and he was over-running the ball after Lewis Wing released him into the area, enabling Jake Buxton to make a last-ditch tackle.

It was that kind of night for Braithwaite, although in truth, it was that kind of evening for Boro as a whole. There were moments when the home side’s speed of movement and thought were significantly superior to those of their League One opponents, but they were fleeting.

Hugill looped an early header onto the roof of the net from a Downing cross, Wing brought a decent first-half save out of Collins with a first-time strike from inside the box, and Downing tested the Burton goalkeeper towards the end of the opening period with a fiercely-hit free-kick.

Boro’s best first-half opportunity fell to Hugill eight minutes before the break, but after galloping clear down the left-hand side, the Teessider cut in and drilled a shot straight at Collins. His hurried follow-up effort was also blocked.

It was all a bit scruffy from a Boro perspective, and despite having travelled to Teesside on the back of five defeats from their previous seven outings, Burton were far from overawed.

Ben Turner directed a back-post header straight at Darren Randolph, who was making his first Carabao Cup appearance of the season, and much-travelled midfielder Stephen Quinn curled tamely over the crossbar when he looked well-set on the edge of the box.

Admittedly, Burton set up in a predominantly defensive formation, but they counter-attacked with purpose, and fashioned arguably the best move of the night on the stroke of half-time.

Lucas Akins rounded off a slick break by rolling a square ball across the 18-yard line, Hesketh’s dummy fooled the Boro defence, and Marcus Harness was left with his head in his hands as he curled wastefully over the top.

It felt like a golden opportunity had gone for the visitors, but it was merely a precursor of what was to follow three minutes after the break.

Jamie Allen burst into the box beyond a frozen Boro defence, but his measured low strike rebounded off the base of the right-hand post. Mo Besic should have got to the rebound, but Hesketh wanted the ball more, and his sliding challenge won him possession. He turned neatly as he got to his feet, and with Boro’s defenders in a state of confusion, his low finish found the bottom right-hand corner.

Suddenly, the visitors sensed blood, and Boro’s defence was caught napping again moments later, with Harness finding himself in acres of space on the left, only for his shot to be deflected over the bar.

Boro’s second-half performance was extremely lacklustre, and the major surprise was that it took Pulis until well past the hour mark to change things with the introduction of Marcus Tavernier and Britt Assombalonga. For all that Pulis might cite failings in parts of Assombalonga’s game, he is by far the likeliest goalscorer in the squad.

Burton’s defence remained in complete control until the 84th minute, when Boro somehow missed the most golden of opportunities.

Tavernier swung over a left-wing cross, and Flint headed wide of the target from no more than three yards. As a way to sum up Boro’s failings, it was pretty much perfect.