MIDDLESBROUGH’S understudies fluffed their lines as another home defeat to Blackburn Rovers ended their FA Cup hopes at the third-round stage.

Blackburn repeated their 1-0 league win from earlier this season, with Andreas Weimann firing home the only goal of the game midway through the second half.

Weimann made amends for missing an open goal as he fired home from the heart of the penalty area, with Blackburn’s unbeaten run on Teesside now stretching to a remarkable 11 matches.

Boro rarely looked like ending that sequence this lunchtime, with Michael Carrick’s much-changed line-up failing to fire.

Micah Hamilton was bitterly disappointing as he finally got his chance on the left-hand side, with Riley McGree equally ineffectual on the opposite flank.

Alex Gilbert forced Blackburn goalkeeper Balazs Toth into his only meaningful save, but was a peripheral presence at best in the ‘number ten’ role, while Delano Burgzorg couldn’t step into Emmanuel Latte Lath’s shoes as the central striker.

For all that Carrick has talked glowingly of the depth in his squad, this was an afternoon that suggested Boro cannot afford too many of their main stars to be missing if they are to achieve promotion in the second half of the season.

Carrick made seven changes to his Middlesbrough side, with John Eustace opting for five alterations to his Blackburn line-up. With so much reshuffling, perhaps it should have been no surprise that both teams took a fair amount of time to settle.

It was the 33rd minute before either side even attempted an effort at goal, and even that was a tame one, with McGree pulling a shot wide of the post after cutting in from the left.

Blackburn’s first sight of goal came a couple of minutes later, but while Weimann latched on to Joe Rankin-Costello’s through ball, his chipped shot flew wide of the post.

Weimann was the visitors’ main creator, and he almost set up an opener for his side three minutes before the break. The Austrian picked out Harry Leonard with a cross from the left, but from eight yards out, the striker fired a first-time volley against the crossbar.

Leonard headed another Weimann cross over the top at the start of the second half, before Middlesbrough finally force Toth into his first save, with the Blackburn goalkeeper tipping over Gilbert’s dipping half-volley.

Blackburn were on top by that stage though, and while Weimann missed a glorious opportunity when he lofted over an open goal after charging down Tom Glover’s clearance, the forward made amends just a minute later.

A sliding Matt Clarke cut out a cross from the left, but the ball fell invitingly for Weimann, who hammered home from 12 yards.