*Dangerous Dion snatches a win*

Steve McLaren has turned Middlesbrough into an admirably consistent side. But although they are imperious at home, they invariably sulk into frightened-rabbit mode once they hit the road. This was Middlesbrough’s sixth straight away defeat in the Premiership, and it was largely of their own making.

Slack marking allowed Dion Dublin a goal he should never have scored, before Mark Wilson was dismissed with less than half an hour on the clock. That the decision was an excessively harsh one is all but immaterial. A side with lofty ambitions never approached the levels of drive and desire needed to be a success in the Premiership.

Middlesbrough’s last away goal and win both came at Spurs in September. Villa, meanwhile, put an end to a three-game losing run, and they can look forward to Bolton’s visit on Wednesday with renewed cheer.

Graham Taylor stuck some fresh patches on to his ragged coat of a side, most notably giving a debut at right-back to Rob Edwards, just 20. When Mustapha Hadji limped off after four minutes, it took to five the number of changes to the Villa side who lost 3-1 at Manchester City on Boxing Day. Maybe the fresh blood helped, because Villa started impressively and scored before Middlesbrough settled.

Juan Pablo Angel’s direct cross created the chance. Dublin’s volley might have taken a deflection off the unfortunate Wilson; either way, its looped flight finished in Mark Schwarzer’s net.

Ten minutes later the veteran striker almost doubled the dose, but Schwarzer recovered to tip the ball over. By this stage Villa were dominating possession and play, with Gareth Barry and Jlloyd Samuel combining elegantly down the left, and Angel at the heart of every manoeuvre.

Yet the man with the biggest impact on proceedings was the referee, Rob Styles. When Wilson brought down Samuel it was a foul but scarcely foul play. Mr Styles thought otherwise, however, and with Wilson already having been shown the yellow card, the referee reached for red. The contorted bodies and impassioned howls from the Middlesbrough bench stated eloquently their view of Mr Styles’s decision.

The home side then poured forward. Samuel obliged Schwarzer to make a smart save, but the Australian keeper could do nothing about Barry’s finger-burning drive. On that occasion, the bar saved him.

As the second period developed, the variety of ways Villa almost scored a second goal multiplied. Angel sent a free-kick crashing wide and had a header chested off the line by Stuart Parnaby. De La Cruz sent a succession of crosses just above unmarked attackers, and Barry had two drives blocked.

McLaren switched to three at the back to bolster his midfield, allowing his side to maintain the illusion that a comeback was possible. Geremi twice got in promising positions on Boro breaks, but on both occasions the midfielder lashed wide.

The Cameroon international did much better with a subsequent free-kick, sending Postma scurrying to his left to tip round the post, but it was former Villa man Ugo Ehiogu who spurned the best chance. In a late scramble he hit a shot - and Middlesbrough’s chance of redemption - high into the despairing Boro supporters.