Late strikes from Noel Whelan and Andy Campbell sent Manchester United crashing out of the FA Cup at the fourth-round stage for the second straight year.

Under-fire Red Devils defender Laurent Blanc was guilty of another lapse, allowing Whelan to steal in behind him to score Middlesbrough's first goal on 84 minutes.

And Campbell sealed a dramatic victory from a Dean Windass cross at a sparsely populated Riverside Stadium.

And he posed his share of problems, peppering the Boro area with crosses that narrowly evaded his team-mates.

If United lacked a finishing touch, Middlesbrough's attack, spearheaded by the makeshift partnership of Windass and Noel Whelan, barely created a first-half chance.

But that changed after the break.

Steve McLaren's team talk appeared to inject new ambition and belief into his side.

And substitute Mark Wilson, appearing against his former club, tested Fabian Barthez immediately with a stinging drive, before Windass forced a sharp save on 51 minutes.

United always threatened at the other end.

Paul Scholes should have scored from 10 yards out. And then, on 66 minutes, Mustoe again cleared off the line from a well-timed Silvestre header.

Ferguson threw on Van Nistelrooy, Giggs and Dwight Yorke - who has been linked to a move to Boro - but none of them could spark the last-gasp heroics that lifted United past Aston Villa in round three.

Instead, the golden chances fell to Middlesbrough.

For Boro, the only dampening note - on a day when many games were lost to waterlogged pitches - was the game's attendance of only 17,624.

This paltry support may not have impressed would-be signee Yorke and reflects badly on the comeptition as a whole.

Middlesbrough: Crossley, Southgate, Cooper, Queudrue, Stockdale, Greening, Mustoe, Johnston, Marinelli, Windass, Whelan. Subs: Beresford, Campbell, Ricard, Wilson, Gavin.

Man Utd: Barthez, Gary Neville, Blanc, Phil Neville, Silvestre, Wallwork, Keane, Butt, Chadwick, Scholes, Solskjaer. Subs: van Nistelrooy, Giggs, Carroll, Yorke, O'Shea.

Referee: M Halsey (Welwyn Garden City)