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Game #4098

Tuesday, 30 January 1990

Attendance: 16,547

Lost

Zenith Data Systems Cup Final

Final

Middlesbrough

Last 5: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟥

Villa Park

Villa old boys do the damage as Bruce Rioch masterminds Boro's win in the ZDS pre-final final and Paul Kerr wins the free kick that beats Villa in the first leg.

Aston Villa

1-2

Middlesbrough

Assist(s) | David Platt | 13' |

KEY MAN

David Platt, miracle cure not enough to prevent defeat to second tier Boro.

RELATED MATCHES

MATCH TIMELINE

⚽ | 13’ Goal, 1-0, Paul Birch, Assist by David Platt
🥅 | 15’ Goal, 1-1, (Middlesbrough), Bernie Slaven
🕒 | HT Aston Villa 1-1 Middlesbrough
🔁 | 46’ Sub off, Paul McGrath, Sub on, Chris Price
🔁 | 66’ Sub off, Paul Birch, Sub on, Tony Daley
🥅 | 90’ Goal, 1-2, (Middlesbrough), Mark Brennan
🕒 | FT Aston Villa 1-2 Middlesbrough

ON THIS DAY

Graham Taylor’s Villa lose in the first leg of the Northern Final of the latest incarnation of the Full Members Cup.

Aston Villa

European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1981-82

Middlesbrough

European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: ❌
FA Cup Winners: ❌
League Cup Winners: ❌
Last Trophy: ❌

FIXTURE HISTORY

Previous 5 vs. Middlesbrough: 🟩 🟩 🟥 🟨 🟨

FIXTURE DETAILS

Season | 1989-90 |
Matchday | #34 |
Manager Game | #132 |
Tuesday, 30 January 1990

MATCH SUMMARY

Manager: Graham Taylor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Worksop, 1987-1990
Referee: Lester Shapter | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Torquay, 1974-1992
HT Score: 🟨 1-1
FT Result: 🟥 Lost
FT Score: 🟥 1-2
Last 5: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟥

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Lester Shapter | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Torquay, 1974-1992
Previous 5: 🟩 🟩 🟥 🟩 🟥
Last Match: 🟥 11 February 1989, Villa 0-1 Wimbledon, Plough Lane.
Cards: None

CARDS

Villa

None

Middlesbrough

None

TEAM NEWS

Not recorded

TEAM STATS

Starting XI Average Age
| 27.31 |

Oldest Player |
GK Nigel Spink | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 31.50 |

Youngest Player |
CF Ian Olney | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 20.13 |

MANAGER

Graham Taylor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |

MANAGER

Bruce Rioch (ex) | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 |

Aston Villa

GK Nigel Spink | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
RB Kevin Gage | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Paul McGrath | 🇮🇪 | 🔁 |
CB Derek Mountfield | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Kent Nielsen | 🇩🇰 |
M Paul Birch | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | ⚽ | 🔁 |
M Stuart Gray | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M David Platt | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 🔥 |
M Gordon Cowans | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CF Ian Olney | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CF Ian Ormondroyd | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |

Middlesbrough

GK Stephen Pears | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
RB Gary Parkinson | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Nicky Mohan | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Simon Coleman | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Alan Kernaghan | 🇮🇪 |
FB Owen McGee | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Paul Kerr (ex) | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Mark Proctor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Mark Brennan | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | ⚽ |
W Stuart Ripley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CF Bernie Slaven | 🇮🇪 | ⚽ |

SUBSTITUTES

🔁 RB Chris Price | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | for CB Paul McGrath | 🇮🇪 | 46’ |
🔁 W Tony Daley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | for M Paul Birch | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 66’ |

SUBSTITUTES

No Substitutions Made

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES

None

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES

M Trevor Putney | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Mark Burke (ex) | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |

SQUAD STATS

1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 : 9/11

Squad:
Home Nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 : 11/13

MATCHDAY SQUAD

SQUAD STATS

1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 : 9/11

Squad:
Home Nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 : 11/13

MATCHDAY SQUAD

UNAVAILABLE

Not recorded

UNAVAILABLE

Not Recorded

Player Abbreviations:

GK : Goalkeeper

LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back

CB, D : Centre Back, Defender

M, W : Midfielder. Winger

F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward

🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game

Symbols:

⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution

🟨 | Booking

🟥 | Sending off

🆘 | Poor refereeing performance

DEBUT APPEARANCES

FINAL APPEARANCES

MATCH STATS

Not recorded

TABLE

2021-22 Matchweek 38.jpg

PROGRAMME

Quotation Marks.png

MATCHDAY QUOTES

"On Saturday, roving midfielder David Platt was going to be out for a couple of months with a suspected broken leg, courtesy of a reckless challenge from Port Vale’s Neil Aspin.

"By Sunday the recovery time was reduced to two weeks. In the event it was precisely two days, and after only 13 minutes Middlesbrough were left to rue the miracle cure."

*Newcastle Journal*
Wednesday, 31 January 1990

MARK BRENNAN'S 89th minute goal ended Aston Villa's 11 -game unbeaten run and gave Middlesbrough a 2-1 first leg lead in their Zenith Data Systems Cup Northern Area final at Villa Park last night. The midfielder blasted home from 25 yards to cap a tremendous Boro fightback.

Villa, joint League leaders and with 11 straight wins on their own patch went into the first leg confidently expecting to build a handy lease as a cushion for next week’s return at Ayresome Park.

Paul Birch had shot Villa ahead in 14 minutes But Bernie Slaven levelled for the Second Division side within a minute.

The game went out live on Sky Television, the first to be screened under the channel’s £4.5m tie up with the sponsors, and the viewers were not the only ones surprised to see Villa’s current star turn in their line up, contrary to the pre-match billing.

On Saturday, roving midfielder David Platt was going to be out for a couple of months with a suspected broken leg, courtesy of a reckless challenge from Port Vale’s Neil Aspin.

By Sunday the recovery time was reduced to two weeks. In the event it was precisely two days, and after only 13 minutes Middlesbrough were left to rue the miracle cure.

Taking a pass from Stuart Gray with his back to goal 25 yards out, Platt spun around to conjure up a superb through ball for Paul Birch, who ran on unhindered to poke a shot beneath goalkeeper Stephen Pears.

Boro’s large and voluble following was stunned not silence - but only for two minutes, as long as it took for Slaven to show his predatory instinct once again.

Alan Kernaghan could claim the assist, meeting Gary Parkinson’s right wing free kick with a header which keeper Nigel Spink could only touch on to the crossbar, Slaven showing the sharpest reactions to bundle the rebound home.

The speed of that reply, and the fact that the visitors had not set out simply to contain, clearly unsettled Villa, who lost their early momentum.

It was the close attentions of Boro winger Stuart Ripley, a constant danger down the right, which upset defender Paul McGrath around the half hour mark, however - both players were fortunate to escape a caution from referee Lester Chapter after a touchline tussle which flared briefly into a mauling match.

Having survived an awkward 20 minutes or so, the first division side regained their composure as half time approached, Gordon Cowans flashing a shot wide and Platt bouncing an angled drive off the top of the Boro bar.

But it was one of their old boys, Paul Kerr, who almost put Boro ahead six minutes after the restart, the midfielder blasting inches over after being teed up by Mark Brennan and Slaven.

The heavily sanded centre circle cut up badly in the driving rain, but in the midst of it all Brennan gave a commanding display and set up a golden opportunity in the 54th minute for Kernaghan.

Showing terrific determination to break through a couple of challenges, he slid a shot against Spink, but although the ball fell kindly for Kernaghan, the stand-in striker dallied too long and stabbed his effort tamely into the keeper’s arms.

Villa sent on crowd favourite Tony Daley for goalscorer Birch in the 66th minute, but Boro’s instant replay was to shake the home side with another near miss.

Slaven, tight in the by-line, spotted Mark Proctor’s late runs into the box, but the acting captain, saw Spink somehow cling on to his downward header by the foot of the post.

By now, the showers had turned into a deluge, yet Boro could perhaps be grateful for the part the appalling conditions appeared to play in two out of character mis-kicks by Platt.

It was Boro, their batteries recharged by a weekend off, who ended the stronger, although their best chance of victory seemed to have gone when Slaven’s goal bound attempt was blocked by Gray.

But with just 50 seconds left on the clock, Proctor tapped a free kick sideways to Brennan, who cracked a left foot drive into the corner of the net for the first leg winner.