Tony Mowbray’s return to Middlesbrough brought the best out of his Albion side at the weekend as they made sure their name went into the FA Cup quarter-final draw.
A Kevin Phillips equaliser earned Albion a 2-2 draw and a replay at The Hawthorns next Tuesday (7.45).
Former Boro midfielder Jonathan Greening said: "The gaffer had a chat with us at half-time and said how much confidence he had in us and he reckoned we could step up a few gears, and we made him proud in the second half.
"We came out and showed everyone what we are all about. We played some good football — Middlesbrough hardly touched the ball.
"We believe we can beat anybody. We feel good when we are playing good football and if we can do that, we will be all right."
Albion trailed 2-1 at the interval, Julio Arca and a penalty from Ayegbeni Yakubu offsetting Diomansy Kamara's 41st-minute goal. But Phillips ensured a replay with the 200th goal of his professional career.
Mowbray, who insists promotion remains his priority, was happy with the way his side matched their Premiership opponents.
The former defender, who achieved cult status during his 12 years at Boro, was recently voted into second place behind Southgate in a fans’ poll to choose the club’s best captain, and although his popularity may wane should he dump them out of the FA Cup, he was flattered by the accolade.
He said: "Gareth Southgate was a great captain for Boro — I went along and watched the cup finals he participated in, so I am happy enough with that.
"I am just proud to have played for the club and helped them out in a period when we were struggling."
