Game #4227
Saturday, 26 September 1992
Attendance: 20,905
Won
Premier League
6th (+1)
Middlesbrough
Last 5: 🟩 🟨 🟩 🟩 🟩
Ayresome Park
Villa record a third win in four unbeaten Premier League games to as Dean Saunders scores his second successive top flight brace to send Villa sixth in the table.
Middlesbrough
2-3
Aston Villa
Assist(s) | Steve Froggatt | 22’ | Ray Houghton | 71’ | Dwight Yorke | 74’ |
KEY MAN
Dean Saunders, four in two Premier League games.
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
⚽ | 22’ Goal, 1-0, Dean Saunders, Assist by Steve Froggatt
🕒 | HT Middlesbrough 0-1 Aston Villa
🥅 | 62’ Goal, 1-1, (Middlesbrough)
🔁 | 70’ Sub off, Steve Froggatt, Sub on, Dwight Yorke
⚽ | 71’ Goal, 2-1, Dalian Atkinson, Assist by Ray Houghton
⚽ | 74’ Goal, 3-1, Dean Saunders Assist by Dwight Yorke
🥅 | 86’ Goal, 3-2, (Middlesbrough), Paul McGrath o.g.
🔁 | 88’ Sub off, Garry Parker, Sub on, Mark Blake 🔴
🕒 | FT Middlesbrough 2-3 Aston Villa
ON THIS DAY
Villa were now unbeaten in 5 games, winning 4.
Midfielder Mark Blake made his final appearance for Villa aged 21 before moving on to Division One Portsmouth in August 1993 for a fee of £400,000. Blake played for Villa between 1989-90 and 1992-93 making 37 appearances and scoring twice.
Goalkeeper Les Sealey returned to Manchester United from his loan spell with Villa without making an appearance.
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
Middlesbrough
Previous 5 vs. Middlesbrough: 🟨 🟨 🟥 🟥 🟩
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1992-93 |
Matchday | #11 |
League Match | #10 |
Manager Game | #62 |
Saturday, 26 September 1992
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Ron Atkinson | 🏴 | Liverpool, 1991-1994
Referee: David Elleray | 🏴 | Harrow, 1986-2003
Kick off: 3.00pm
HT Score: 🟩 1-0
FT Score: 🟩 3-2
FT Result: 🟩 Won
Last 5: 🟩 🟨 🟩 🟩 🟩
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: David Elleray | 🏴 | Harrow, 1986-2003
Previous 5: 🟩 🟩 🟥 🟨
Last Match: 🟨 10 March 1992, Villa 0-0 Notts County, Meadow Lane.
Cards: 🟨 🟨
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Villa name an unchanged line up from the team that beat Oxford last time out.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age | 27.70 |
Oldest Player |
GK Nigel Spink | 🏴 | 34.16 |
Youngest Player |
W Steve Froggatt | 🏴 | 19.56 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Ron Atkinson | 🏴 |
Lennie Lawrence | 🏴 |
Aston Villa
GK Nigel Spink | 🏴 |
RB Earl Barrett | 🏴 |
CB Shaun Teale | 🏴 |
CB Paul McGrath | 🇮🇪 |
LB Steve Staunton | 🇮🇪 |
M Ray Houghton | 🇮🇪 | 🔥 |
M Garry Parker | 🏴 | 🔁 |
M Kevin Richardson | 🏴 |
W Steve Froggatt | 🏴 | 🔥 | 🔁 |
CF Dalian Atkinson | 🏴 | ⚽ |
CF Dean Saunders | 🏴 | ⚽ | ⚽ |
Middlesbrough
GK Ian Ironside | 🏴 |
LB Jimmy Phillips | 🏴 |
CB Derek Whyte | 🏴 |
CB Alan Kernaghan | 🇮🇪 | 🟨 |
RB Chris Morris | 🇮🇪 | 🟨 |
M Andy Peake | 🏴 |
M Jamie Pollock | 🏴 |
M Robbie Mustoe | 🏴 |
W Tommy Wright | 🏴 |
CF Bernie Slaven | 🇮🇪 | ⚽ |
CF Paul Wilkinson | 🏴 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 CF Dwight Yorke | 🇹🇹 | 🔥 | for W Steve Froggatt | 🏴 | 70’ |
🔁 M Mark Blake | 🏴 | 🔴 | for M Garry Parker | 🏴 | 88’ |
SUBSTITUTES
No Substitutions Made
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Les Sealey | 🏴 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Andrew Collett | 🏴 |
D Jonathan Gittens | 🏴 |
M Marc Proctor | 🏴 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 10/14
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 11/14
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
M Mark Blake | 🏴 |
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE

PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
“We’re a tidy side.
Dalian Atkinson.
“We are looking for 35 goals from our front two, 30 from midfield and a dozen from the back.
“If we managed that, we won’t be far away [from the title].”
Ron Atkinson.
*Birmingham Evening Mail*
Monday, 28 September 1992
NEVER mind Villa's five match unbeaten sequence and their surge to the Premier League's top six.
Those statistics, impressive as they are, don't even begin to illustrate the superb depth of quality currently running through the best side for a decade to wear the famous claret and blue.
These days. quite simply, Ron Atkinson's men are a delight to watch. Even home supporters in Middlesbrough's best crowd of the season left Ayresome Park with reluctant admiration.
Villa were shaping up nicely, not always convincingly. before Dean Saunders' arrival. Now they carry the aura of genuine championship contenders.
Middlesbrough give you nothing at Ayresome Park, as Leeds discovered in a 4-1 thumping earlier in the season, yet Villa were still able to stamp their authority on a contest which was a marvellous advert for the much-maligned Premier League.
Dalian Atkinson's description of Villa as a "tidy side" was something of an understatement. They're compact, all right, but there's also a self-assured exuberance which hasn’t been evident since the days of First Division and European Cup glory.
Villa knocked the ball around the greasy Ayresome surface with all the confidence and panache of a team who know exactly what they are doing.
Saunders and Atkinson provided a spearhead which has already yielded halt a dozen goals - four of them for the new boy - and looks destined to become a razor-sharp double-edged sword as their understanding develops.
Dean Saunders continued his fairytale start with another two-goal blast.
The £2.3million Villa striker matched last week's debut double against old club Liverpool.
Boss Ron Atkinson was asked whether Deano could have improved on his four goals in two games. "Yes - he could have had two hat-tricks," quipped Big Ron.
Saunders opened his Ayresome Park account with a 22nd minute strike.
Boro's Bernie Slaven grabbed an equaliser, but Villa stepped up a gear. More goals - from Dalian Atkinson and Saunders - in three minutes wrecked Boro.
An own goal by Villa's Paul McGrath three minutes from time ensured a frantic finish.
Boro boss Lennie Lawrence admitted: "We were outclassed in the first half. Then after getting back level, we let our hearts rule our heads."