IN THE city where gladiators were renowned for doing battle at the Collosseum, proud manager Steve McClaren last night witnessed his Middlesbrough team turn in their very own gladiatorial display in the Stadio Olimpico.

One of the finest successes in the club's history ensured Boro knocked out the Italian might of AS Roma and earned a place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup for the first time.

The away goal triumph over the Serie A giants, after possibly the most glorious defeat in the Teessiders history, has made sure Boro have gone one step further than a year ago when they were knocked out at the last-16 stage by Sporting Lisbon.

The adulation felt among the players, the coaches and the thousands of Boro fans was clear to see at the final whistle and McClaren, not one to have been appreciated by the supporters in the past, went over to celebrate the victory with the supporters.

And an ecstatic McClaren said last night: "You don't have nights like this very often in your career but it ranks as one of the best.

"I still think the Carling Cup win was the catalyst to this, but beating the favourites over the two legs is very satisfying. Not just for me and the players, but for the chairman (Steve Gibson) and the fans.

"I'm so proud of the players. They've had their critics throughout the season but the players are performing when it matters. We have been doing it for the fans as well because we want go far in this competition.

"There aren't many nights like this and you have to make the most of them when they come along. Roma fought all the way but in the end we have done enough.

"We have beaten two of the top teams in Europe to get where we are but we have done nothing yet. The players want to go further and that's my feelings entirely."

In overcoming Roma, Boro have also successfully managed to avoid a repeat of the way Newcastle were dumped out of the competition by Sporting Lisbon last season.

The Magpies went to Lisbon with a one-goal advantage, scored the crucial away goal before Sporting responded by hitting four past Shay Given.

Having allowed Roma to come back and score two goals, levelling matters on aggregate, Boro managed to cling on to their invaluable away goal advantage.

And McClaren said: "Over the two legs we deserved it. The clean sheet and zero goals in the home tie was the key to us winning. We didn't think we would concede three goals once we scored.

"With Roma scoring before half-time it opened up the game and we knew the next one would be important.

"It was the longest 30 minutes for a long time when they scored the second. But we resisted and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made some excellent saves."

Boro skipper Gareth Southgate, who celebrated here at the Stadio Olimpico in 1997 when England secured the draw that clinched a place in the World Cup, was equally as proud of the team's performance.

"It was a fantastic display. We couldn't get it out of our own half at times but we stuck at it and I give credit to everyone," said Southgate.

"In the end guts got us through. Once we had the away goal to hang onto that was the incentive.

"Roma are a great side but we deserved to go through. Mark Schwarzer made some great saves."

Midfielders George Boateng and Lee Cattermole will both miss the first leg of the quarter-finals later this month after picking up their third bookings of the competition last night.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.