IN his 17 years as a senior professional, Jonny Howson has done pretty much everything there is to do. Up until now, however, the Middlesbrough skipper has never played in the semi-finals of a major cup competition. Next month, that will change.

Thanks to Tuesday night’s clinical 3-0 win at Port Vale, Boro can look forward to a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea at the start of next year.

For the club, it is a chance to mark the 20th anniversary of their historic Carling Cup success at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium with another trip to the League Cup final. For Howson, who freely admits he is approaching the twilight of his career as he prepares to turn 36 in May, it is an opportunity to fill one of the few remaining gaps on his footballing CV.

“It (the quarter-final at Vale Park) was a big occasion for us,” said Howson, whose only major medal came courtesy of Norwich City’s win over Middlesbrough in the 2015 Championship play-off final. “It’s the first time in my career I’ve been in a semi-final.

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“As players, it’s something that doesn’t always come round in your career - obviously it never has in mine. That’s something the gaffer had mentioned before the game. So, it meant just as much to us as it did to Port Vale.

“It’s something to look forward to. It will be a great occasion for us, and we’ll look forward to it when it comes, although of course there are a fair few games to come over Christmas now.”

Reigniting a promotion push that has faltered somewhat over the last few weeks will be the priority over the festive period, but once the FA Cup third round is out of the way at the start of next month, thoughts will turn to the last four of the Carabao Cup.

Boro are the only non-Premier League side left in the competition, having had something of a charmed run that has seen them avoid top-flight opposition entirely in their passage to the semi-finals.

The draw presented them with a golden opportunity, but it is to the considerable credit of Michael Carrick and his players that they seized it so successfully and professionally. Away games at Huddersfield, Bolton, Bradford, Exeter and Port Vale could easily have seen standards slip, or resulted in the Boro squad taking their collective eye off the ball.

Instead, they strung together five away wins in a row, setting up a first semi-final in almost two decades and taking the Teessiders to within touching distance of a return to Wembley.

“For all of us, it’s a massive thing,” said Howson. “The players, the coaches, the staff, the fans. It’s a League Cup semi-final. And let’s be honest, we’re a team in the Championship that has outlasted the likes of Man City, Arsenal, whoever.

“Those sides get to these stages often. We’ve got to make the most of it. It’s not just a football experience, it’s a life experience as well. Maybe it wasn’t expected, but that’s what can happen in football.

“Of course, on paper, we’ve been fortunate with the draws that we’ve had. But that’s no disrespect to any of the teams we’ve played because you’ve still got to go out there and put your performance in to win. Every year you see teams go out to sides in divisions below. We’ve had to go out there and do the job.”

Tuesday’s performance exemplified the fully-focused manner in which Boro have tackled this season’s Carabao Cup. Port Vale started brightly, buoyed by a raucous atmosphere at a sold-out Vale Park, but Boro rode out the early storm, and quickly set about playing their own football, with goals from Howson and Morgan Rogers in the opening 25 minutes deflating the home side’s optimism.

Port Vale briefly threatened a revival at the start of the second half, but a 53rd-minute goal from Matt Crooks killed off any prospect of a comeback and enabled Boro to coast their way to the final whistle.

“It was important we started the game well because it was a quarter-final and there was always going to be a raucous atmosphere,” said Howson. “They gave it everything they had, but the way we started and the way we did our jobs individually, I thought we did that very well.

“Obviously the goals helped to settle us down.  They were always going to have a spell in the game – they were at home and were going to give it all they’ve got. We started the second half well, got another goal and put the tie to bed. It was a very professional performance from there, looking after the ball and seeing it over the line.”