Middlesbrough 0, Albion 1

Just when Glenn Murray and Albion needed a Friend, George obliged.

The Middlesbrough left-back's accidental role in Murray's 90th minute winner ended a difficult week for the veteran target man and a difficult 12 weeks for the Seagulls away from the Amex.

The last time they had scored, or won, on their travels was when Murray pounced in the first half at Swansea at the beginning of November.

Chris Hughton turned to him from the bench four days after his arrest with wife Stacey over an alleged £1.1 million tax fraud in an attempt to avoid the replay neither club wanted.

Murray obliged, albeit it with the kind of luck that has generally been in short supply for Albion so far in the Premier League.

He fed the ball out to Markus Suttner before heading for his feeding ground, the opposition's box.

Friend's attempted clearance rebounded off Murray's knee and flashed past Boro keeper Darren Randolph (below) to book Albion's place in this evening's last 16 draw.

The Argus: The fluke finished an away famine spanning 11 hours and 31 minutes, about the time it took the near 1,000 away supporters to get to Middlesbrough and back, no thanks to the road and rail disruption double whammy of M23 closures and bus replacement services.

An overdue goal and victory at least made the mission worthwhile and might, just might, lift spirits for the vital games against Southampton on Wednesday and West Ham on Saturday.

More than half the team will be different but, as Hughton observed, the mood in the camp will be that much brighter as the players report back for training.

Murray now has eight goals, six in the Premier League and two in the FA Cup after his winner also in the previous round against former club Crystal Palace.

That represents a decent return. Hughton had no hesitation in selecting him in the squad and he will continue to be important to Albion during the run-in, irrespective of the strike force improvement this month.

Hughton (below) said: "It was a typical poacher's goal. He didn't set the world alight when he came on but that's what he does. He's a goalscorer and was in the right place at the right time."

The Argus: Albion's performance resembled many of their away displays in the Premier League since that win in Wales.

They were generally sound defensively, apart from occasional set piece scares in the shape of a corner (yet again) and Ryan Shotton's long throw, and the problems caused by Adama Traore.

The former Barcelona B winger, just turned 22, was a handful with his combination of pace and power. He started on the right, ended up on the left, and although his influence waned as the match wore on, Boro appear to be in possession of an exciting talent.

Tim Krul tipped a rasping angled drive from Traore onto his near post late in the first half, when Boro were the better side.

Shortly after Murray's introduction the Spaniard went almost as close to ending the suffocating stalemate with a low shot after cutting inside.

Albion were impotence personified in attacking terms in the opening 45 minutes, when they were also grateful for Daniel Ayala heading a corner straight at Krul.

They improved after the break, especially when Jose Izquierdo was introduced for ineffective injury victim Jiri Skalak.

The Argus: The Czech was hurt trying to convert the rebound after Randolph spilled a shot from Beram Kayal (above), who also fired over from an angle after Anthony Knockaert regained possession from Traore.

Izquierdo did not make the most either of a decent opportunity deep inside the box on the turn from Davy Propper's pass, the Dutchman having replaced Dale Stephens at the interval in a pre-arranged swap.

Hughton's half-time instructions reflected his side's ponderous first half display.

He said: "Once you get the feel for the game I felt we could break more. We had decent control at times in the first half.

"Maybe get players forward from midfield a bit more to support the front. That was it, as the game opens up be the team that can step in and be a bit more offensive.

"Firstly it's nice to win the game. I can't speak for Tony (Pulis) but I would think the last thing we both needed was a replay.

"I'm really delighted to be through and to get the goal. We pushed for it in the second half but probably didn't look like scoring, I must admit."

It is a bit early in the competition still to contemplate an unwanted repeat of 1983, when of course Albion's FA Cup final appearance coincided with relegation.

"I don't think anybody will think that," Hughton said. "How far are we going to go? Most people know it's the big clubs that on the law of averages get to semi-finals and quarter-finals but we'll work as hard as we can and push as hard as we can and see where it takes us."

The Cup goes on the backburner again now until after the far more significant clashes with Southampton, West Ham and Stoke. By that stage the prospects of averting Middlesbrough's singular season in the Premier League following promotion could be considerably clearer.