Premier League - Boro hanging on after Villa draw

Eurosport - Sat, 16 May 18:55:00 2009

Middlesbrough's chances of Premier League survival took a huge hit as Aston Villa held them to a 1-1 draw at the Riverside.

FOOTBALL Middlesbrough's Tuncay Sanli scores the opening goal with an overhead kick against Aston Villa. - 0

The home side made a fantastic start to the match when Tuncay Sanli's outrageous 14th minute bicycle kick gave them a deserved lead.

But John Carew's 58th minute equaliser got Villa back on terms and it was Villa who looked more likely to secure a winner in an entertaining, end-to-end final half hour.

For Gareth Southgate's team, the result leaves them needing a handsome win at West Ham next weekend and for both Hull and Newcastle to lose. They require a five-goal, goal difference swing required to usurp the Tigers.

Middlesbrough peppered the Villa box with endless speculative balls in the opening stages and it was only a matter of time before chances began to fall with Tuncay heading Gary O'Neil's powerful cross just over the bar.

Boro's early endeavour was almost undone, however, when Gabriel Agbonlahor found himself through on Boro keeper Brad Jones. The England international went for the nutmeg, but ended up clattering the ball against the keeper's legs.

Just four minutes later, however, Middlesbrough took the lead as Stewart Downing's shot deflected into the air before falling towards Tuncay and the Turkish striker's extraordinary overhead kick flew clean past Brad Friedel and into the far side of the net.

Boro continued to dominate but Stewart Downing left the field after 28 minutes with a foot injury.

Justin Hoyte had a decent effort nodded just over on 37 minutes, and shortly afterwards striker Marvin Emnes was brought down clumsily in the box by Carew though referee Mike Riley adjudged the incident not to have been a foul.

A brief spell of dominance for Villa before the end of the half gave the visitors something to build on and they came out after the break with renewed purpose.

And their continual probing of the Boro defence paid dividends on 58 minutes as Carew danced though with the home defenders nervous of conceding a penalty. The Norwegian did well to find some space to poke home from six yards.

From then on Villa dominated both possession and chances with Agbonlahor again wasting a golden chance with a weak shot and Ashley Young trying to round the keeper when a shot was begging to be hit

Tuncay came close again in the final few minutes with a lob that landed agonisingly on the roof of the net but there would be no way through and Boro's 11 year stay in the top flight now is on the verge of coming to an end.

Toby Keel / Eurosport

Comment 14 - 33 of 33

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  1. KEVIN P
    WRONG - a Toon draw will be enough if hull­ lose!
    AND i assure you, the form book goes right out of­ the window for these fixtures - they will be treated­ like one-off cup ties from the struggling teams.

    From cameron w, on Tue 19 May 1:07PM

  2. Cameron w:
    Yes it is an impossibility. Boro have only­ won twice away all season. West Ham's home form is­ OK - Won 8, lost 8. Boro have got no chance.
    Same for­ Newcastle. Won 2 away, lost 12. Villa have won 6 and­ drawn 9 at home.
    Both need to win and they won't.­ So they are both going down. And therefore it­ doesn't matter what Hull and Sunderland do.

    From KEVIN P, on Tue 19 May 7:53AM

  3. footyfan4eva
    i truly believe, if your lot win next­ Sunday, there is a decent chance you could stay up!
    Is­ this such an impossibility?
    hull-0 man united 3
    west­ ham-0 the boro 2
    villa-1 Toon 0
    Obviously being a Toon­ boy, i hope this is NOT the case but hey, stranger­ things have happened and you ought to cling on to­ anything.
    It ain't over til it's over girl,­ that goes for my pal Butchkins too!

    From cameron w, on Sun 17 May 10:41PM

  4. roger h
    Brilliant, fabulous; i am chuffed for you.
    Do­ enjoy your day, won't you!
    I'll be there too,­ cheering (hopefully) my club's survival and­ clapping off your team too - this is something i always­ do win, lose or draw.
    Such hatred, wow roger what's­ wrong my friend?
    Dear me, in a way i feel sorry for you­ pal; i honestly don't think i've ever come­ across such a hostile post in all my life!!!
    I truly­ believe you have mental health problems my friend and­ should go and seek psychiatric help at once - this is­ really not normal behaviour.
    Best wishes pal, i'll­ be thinking of you next week.

    From cameron w, on Sun 17 May 10:28PM

  5. COME ON BORO we are right behind you even if we are­ relegated well most of us are anyway. and anyway right­ i cant believe the fans that were booing southgate­ there is absolutely no need for it.

    From smiley123, on Sun 17 May 9:36PM

  6. roger h
    be good to see you fall flat on your faces­ again when you to try to con us all into thinking you­ are a 'top-4' club - now THAT was funny . . .­ pillock.

    From cameron w, on Sun 17 May 7:15PM

  7. looking forward to relegating newcastle next week,be­ funny watching all those topless beer bellied idiots­ slumped in the away section of Villa park crying at the­ end

    From roger h, on Sun 17 May 6:20PM

  8. ajd250579
    erm i think you are fibbing, you ain't­ been top-4 for months!
    And you're in for an­ almighty shock next week.

    From cameron w, on Sun 17 May 11:36AM

  9. comes to something when we were top four team for most­ of season then all we can look forward to is sending­ Newcastle down!!

    From a, on Sun 17 May 9:58AM

  10. butchkins, that name is a target for a start, anyway­ call me what you like i am very hard to offend. In fact­ i thought your comment was quite polite bearing in mind­ the abuse i was giving your team. I know what it is­ like to have your team relegated, not nice, especially­ the strength of that Championship [Charlton,­ Southampton etc.] it will be hard to bounce back, so­ there we go. Southgate is seriously ugly, that you must­ admit.

    From Colin H, on Sun 17 May 12:50AM

  11. butchkins
    take a tip from someone who's had to put­ up with derision and mocking and taunting all year long­ - ignore it!
    Or do as i do - if it is just plain­ insulting or juvenile tosh, answer once, then tell them­ that you will refuse to acknowledge them again in­ future!
    I wouldn't worry about Colin H, he's­ harmless - everyone and everthing is a 'turd'­ as far as he is concerned, i think he has a­ 'turd' fetish!
    I have had it bad today, worse­ than usual as it is looking grim for NUFC - Cameron­ w(anker) appears to be the favourite one, or cameron­ cutn or cameron fkcu or even cameron k(nob)!!!! They­ come from all over to mock me, especially from County­ Durham!
    For the record, baiting and bantering aside, i­ cannot believe 'the boro' look like they're­ going down; what a freefall it has been, and it seems­ you will surely lose Tuncay as well (what a class act).­ As for Downing, if you get £12 million, grab it - the­ boy Johnson is far better. It will be tough next­ season, but at least if the worst happens the boro anfd­ the Toon will get the parachute payment from the­ Premier League - this should keep the administrators at­ bay for a while . . . . . yes, that's how serious­ this is!!!

    From cameron w, on Sat 16 May 11:28PM

  12. sorry but he asked for it.

    From butchkins, on Sat 16 May 10:47PM

  13. REF colin H you sad little childish @#$%,,,get a life­ and f off )))

    From butchkins, on Sat 16 May 10:44PM

  14. Come on Villa!!! Let's see the season out with a­ bang - a BIG knockout blow for Newcastle.

    From Tab N, on Sat 16 May 9:27PM

  15. come on West Ham, fu ck the bas tards, send them down­ har har har har har har har har har

    From Colin H, on Sat 16 May 8:47PM

  16. boro to do a leeds, fooking great, down and down har­ har har har har har har har

    From Colin H, on Sat 16 May 8:44PM

  17. har har har har har har har har har har boro turds

    From Colin H, on Sat 16 May 8:41PM

  18. we drew... sigh !!!! its so tight down there, owt can­ happen eh, talk about biting ya nails to ya­ elbows.cameron w your ok,north east football will never­ die,Never!!!!!!

    From butchkins, on Sat 16 May 8:35PM

  19. Any North East club to stay up is a bonus, hope it is­ Boro though.

    From I know how, on Sat 16 May 8:24PM

  20. jonandsally1
    you spiteful get

    From cameron w, on Sat 16 May 7:57PM
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