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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.