Two unseen Aidan Morris moments after double devastation for Middlesbrough star

AIDAN MORRIS showed his class after Middlesbrough's heartbreaking Wembley defeat on what was a day of double devastation for the midfielder.

Not only did Morris suffer the anguish of Middlesbrough's gut-wrenching stoppage time defeat to Hull City in the Championship play-off final, but news also emerged from the United States on Saturday of how Mauricio Pochettino's World Cup squad - which will be formally announced on Tuesday - will look, and the Boro midfielder is remarkably set to be left out.

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Despite that double devastation, Morris still stopped in the media mixed zone at Wembley.

And before that, when the final whistle had been blown, it was Morris who was first over to Sol Brynn to console the tearful Boro keeper after Oli McBurnie's last gasp winner.

Brynn spilt Yu Hirakawa's cross from the left allowing the lurking McBurnie to tap in.

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But Morris said: “It’s not just on Sol, it’s everyone. We have to hold ourselves accountable.

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"People make mistakes. That’s life, that’s football. Sol makes that catch nine times out of ten.

"You go down the other end and we could have scored more goals, or we could have done something to stop the cross.

"There’s tonnes of things. Sol’s a great player and a great dude. That’s part of life, and you only get better by learning from the experience."

It's been a draining fortnight for Boro, who suffered the anguish of a play-off semi-final defeat to Southampton but then had to lift themselves again for the final after Saints were kicked out for cheating.

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But there were no excuses from Morris, who said Boro just came up short when it mattered.

“It feels like deja vu from ten days ago. It’s disappointing," said the midfielder.

"We’re not going to be victims, this is our fault and could have done more. But, as a collective, we just weren’t good enough, and that’s it.

"Yes, it’s been a bit different, but today we should have done better.

"I can’t say enough about the fans, and I think that’s why I’m most disappointed.

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"I feel like I’ve let so many down, or we’ve let so many down. We got a second chance at it.

"We could have got it done at Southampton but we didn’t get it done. We get another chance today and we still didn’t get it done.

"I can’t say enough about how amazing the fans have been - they’ve been unbelievable.

"I didn’t notice the Hull fans until they scored the goal. Our fans are the heart and soul of this team, this club, and I just wish we could have sent them home with more to talk about."

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Morris' omission from the World Cup squad is another major blow ahead of this summer's home tournament from the United States. And it's a huge surprise he's not been included. Not only has he starred for Boro this season, the 24-year-old featured heavily in the most recent get-together when Pochettino's side faced Portugal and Belgium in friendlies.

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