Queens Park Rangers manager Ian Holloway once famously compared his side's messy win in ‘gentleman's terms’. "Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird," he said, "but at least we got her in the taxi. She wasn't the best looking lady we ended up taking home, but she was very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much, let's have a coffee."
If David O'Leary used similar metaphoric lexicons to describe Villa's 3-0 defeat at Middlesbrough yesterday, he might consider that his team did much of the donkey work, chatting her up and buying her drinks, feigning interest in her clothing, before their mate came in an stole her from under their nose.
Of course, O'Leary would never say anything as controversial/interesting at that, but such was his side’s dominance, he did revert to some thinly veiled references to domestic abuse. “The bottom line is, for all you can out-play and batter a team and out-possess them, goals are what decide games; their finishing was clinical and ours was not.”
Juan Pablo Angel, Gareth Barry and Steven Davis all had terrific opportunities to score but it was the home side who took the three points after three counterattacks and three clinical finishes. The pattern of the match was exemplified by the manner in which Boro broke the deadlock on 20 minutes. Villa almost scored when Barry's shot was headed off the line by Gareth Southgate and some hesitant defending by Olof Mellberg played Hasselbaink on side and the striker who O’Leary first brought to England as manager of Leeds cut inside and applied an astute finish.
O'Leary later reflected: “If we had somebody like him, we would have been ahead 1-0 instead of behind.” But alas they do not and with Angel’s impression of Savo Milosevic becoming a little too uncanny of late, the Colombian crashed a header against the bar. He dragged another shot wide after the interval and Barry failed to get a decisive touch to Steve Davis's cross at the near upright, before Davis returned the compliment at the back post.
But Villa were punished for their profligacy when Boro broke again and Job coolly stroked in Stewart Downing's delayed pass on 68 minutes. Still Villa, who have won just once on their travels this season, continues to press with Barry hitting the post and Mark Schwarzer saving from Angel, before Reiziger compounded the visitors’ misery with a third late on.
For all Villa’s intent and verve they left the North-east empty handed. Results are the only currency in the Premiership and it was Middlesbrough's composed finishing that separated the teams. That could be the difference between a European place, too, and Boro look increasingly realistic contenders for a Champions League place, while Villa have now picked up just one point from four games. If Villa's strikers continue to disappoint in front of goal, not only are they going to fail to get the girl, but the victors are going to look like Reiziger.