So we're out of the cup. I suppose it had to end somewhere, and did it really matter whether it was on Sunday at Goodison or at Wembley where we would run into the juggernaut that is Man United?

I'm sure every Boro fan wanted to be in the semi-final draw but, as Gareth Southgate said after the match, it would have been a bonus.

It was a battling performance from Boro and Everton needed a lot of character to beat us, which gives us some small measure of pride in defeat. This was neither Spurs-like rout nor a toothless surrender like we've often seen this season. I said previously that Everton were a team lacking a bit of invention and that was true - especially in the first half - but their league position shows they're still a very good team even with so many missing players. When Louis Saha came on they had an extra dimension and with the crowd behind them they had too much for us.

Can an entire football squad have a collective case of bipolar disorder? After the Wigan game on Saturday I was understandably depressed (along with just about every Boro fan not perpetually hooked up to a morphine drip) over our blunt attack and our seeming lack of fight.

Coming back home tonight after watching us comfortably dispatch West Ham, I may as well be writing about a different team.

So what changed in the space of four days? Well, the line-up, the formation, the strike force and, of course, the competition. Was it the attacking 4-4-2 team that made the difference, or the mental aspect of playing in the FA Cup instead of the league? The smart answer would be: a bit of both, but let’s analyse it a bit more.

To borrow a phrase from commentator parlance: would you believe it? Nary two days after I write about Stewart Downing’s troubles in front of goal this season and worry about the effects of his mid-week game for England he pops up with his first goal of the campaign and a man of the match performance to earn Boro a replay in the Cup.

While the form book was ripped up (to use another platitude) both by Downing and by each team, there were a few familiar features to the game. Afonso Alves was as profligate as ever, managing five shots and yet contriving to only test Rob Green with one of them, while the defence never looked quite safe.

The last fifteen minutes were a familiar defensive scramble as we came under sustained pressure after failing to kill the game off, and the inevitable equaliser duly arrived for the Hammers. Still, the bookies had West Ham as safe favourites to win, and a quarter final tie against Everton is now a realistic aim.