Middlesbrough 0 West Ham United 1: Hammers nail place in final to confirm Pardew's rising stock

Alan Pardew for England manager, anyone? He has led West Ham to their first major final in 25 years and restored a famous old football club's belief in itself. That he did so in front of the Football Association and against Steve McClaren, the leading candidate to succeed Sven Goran Eriksson, only made yesterday's victory more dramatic.

Marlon Harewood's goal gives West Ham their first place in an FA Cup final since 1980 - back in the days before Trevor Brooking was a knight of the realm and before they started building skyscrapers in east London. Yesterday Brooking was in the directors' box among the FA officials who cannot make their mind up over the new England manager. If the FA came to anoint McClaren as the chosen one, then this tie may have just opened up a whole new round of squabbling.

It was a fabulous personal triumph for Pardew who, after promotion to the Premiership last season, now has a final with Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium on 13 May. The West Ham manager handled his triumph with an impressive lightness of touch, invoking the memory of John Lyall and Ron Greenwood, two predecessors of his who have passed away in the last two months. For a club that have sold a generation of England players in the last five years, this was a precious moment.

The day did not go to plan for McClaren. He still has the second leg of the Uefa Cup semi-final against Steaua Bucharest on Thursday but first he will have to deal with the outspoken criticism of his captain, Gareth Southgate, who chose yesterday's newspapers to suggest that there is serious doubt among Middlesbrough players about McClaren. Yesterday, in front of the panel of FA judges, his team messed up their manager's audition.

The England manager's job may well be slipping away from McClaren as Luiz Felipe Scolari edges back into favour and, should he lose on Thursday, he will be left with a team placed 13th in the Premiership and what sounds like, according to Southgate, a rebellious squad of players. Yesterday, the Middlesbrough manager said he would speak to Southgate after he had read the article - he blamed defeat on his side's failure to take their chances.

"There's nothing I can or do that will make them feel any better," McClaren said. "I want them to feel what it is like to lose, to keep it bottled and make sure we don't do the same on Thursday."

As far as the missed chances went, Middlesbrough's Uefa Cup saviour Massimo Maccarone, on as a substitute, bungled at least two in the closing stages but neither were quite so straightforward as Chris Riggott's miss in the penalty area in injury time.

It was when the Middlesbrough centre-half dragged that simple chance wide that the West Ham support knew that they were on their way to the fifth FA Cup final in the club's history and their first major final since the League Cup in 1981. Pardew's team just had more energy and more certainty in front of goal, and in Dean Ashton a decisive presence in the Middlesbrough penalty area.

The £7m West Ham striker floored goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer in the final minutes of the first half with what looked like a stray elbow and left the Australian with a suspected fractured cheekbone.

Schwarzer left the pitch to be replaced by Brad Jones and Ashton again played a key role in the winning goal on 78 minutes when he nodded down Anton Ferdinand's long ball into Harewood's stride.

The 26-year-old Harewood has not always been noted for his finesse and he has had a long, hard struggle to prove himself as a Premiership striker but he finished explosively, taking one touch to nudge the ball away from the lunge of Southgate and another to hit a vicious shot over Jones.

The defeat was hard on Southgate, who, at 35, may not get another chance to win a major trophy and was outstanding yesterday. He took a blow in the face from Harewood's shoulder that would have had fainter Premiership hearts beckoning for a stretcher.

Pardew was a team-mate of Southgate in the 1990 Crystal Palace side that reached the FA Cup final and paid tribute to his former colleague.

McClaren changed his line-up to accommodate Stewart Downing in a more central position rather than his usual left-wing role but Middlesbrough failed miserably to open up West Ham. There was a header from Southgate after 31 minutes and a Downing cross for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink but not until the Dutch striker drew a foul from James Collins on the edge of the area late in the game did he look like getting into a scoring position.

With this victory West Ham have earned a place in the Uefa Cup next season. Pardew's players could not resist coming back out for an encore as their support refused to go home and they celebrated as if they had won the trophy itself. Compared to Liverpool's modest exit after victory on Saturday, it showed the difference in expectations between the two clubs. Even after beating four Premiership sides on the way to Cardiff, West Ham will be the confirmed underdogs when they face Liverpool.

As for Pardew, he has beaten teams managed by Sam Allardyce, Alan Curbishley and now McClaren on the way - all on the England manager shortlist. In the FA's enclosure at Villa Park, that will not have gone unnoticed.

Goal: Harewood (78) 0-1.

Middlesbrough (3-4-1-2): Schwarzer (Jones, 42); Riggott, Southgate, Queudrue; Parnaby, Boateng, Downing, Taylor (Maccarone, 80); Rochemback (Parlour, 75); Yakubu, Hasselbaink. Substitutes not used: Ehiogu, Bates.

West Ham United (4-4-2): Hislop; Ferdinand, Collins, Gabbidon, Konchesky; Benayoun, Reo-Coker, Mullins, Etherington (Newton, 89); Harewood, Ashton (Zamora, 85). Substitutes not used: Walker (gk), Scaloni, Sheringham.

Referee: M Riley (W Yorkshire).

Booked: Middlesbrough Maccarone, Rochemback; West Ham Reo-Coker, Ashton, Harewood, Collins.

Man of the match: Ashton.

Attendance: 39,148.