sport

VILLA BOSS LAMENTS SLACK DEFENDING

O'Neill - angry with his side's defending.

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill bemoaned his side's dismal defending as Middlesbrough striker Tuncay Sanli dashed their hopes of returning to the top four of the Premier League.

The Turkish star cashed in on errors by Nicky Shorey and Steve Sidwell to earn Boro a 2-1 success which extended their unbeaten league run to four games.

Sidwell had equalised for Villa on his first league start since his £5million summer move from Chelsea but inexplicably gifted Tuncay the winner with two minutes remaining at rain-lashed Villa Park.

O'Neill said: "If there are a few minutes left on the board, then if you can't win the game, don't lose it - and we contrived to lose the game.

"The goal was so poor from our viewpoint. It is hard to imagine a softer goal. It is just a lapse in concentration.

"He (Sidwell) will be very disappointed. His overall performance was very encouraging. He will get into the penalty area and try and score. That will be encouraging for us.

"The first goal was also very poor defensively. It would be foolish of me to say there is no danger when someone plays the ball into your area but we had it covered.

"We should have dealt with it in a much better fashion. We didn't deal with it at all."

Villa seldom fired on all cylinders but O'Neill refused to blame the fact they were playing a third game in six days for their performance.

He said: "It has been a tough old week and three games in six days is hard I must admit but, having said that, the top teams do it, go and play Champions League mid-week, get themselves prepared again for the weekend matches.

"We have been in the Intertoto Cup and UEFA Cup since July. This is where we want to be. It is up to us to try and cope with it."

Boro boss Gareth Southgate rated his side's performance as the best since he took charge at the Riverside Stadium two-and-a-half years ago.

He said: "I was really pleased with the way we played. Even if the game had ended in a draw, I'd have been really happy with the account we gave of ourselves.

"We passed the ball really well, were bright on the break and showed some resilience.

"The players have started to grow as a group and this is the best result since I became a manager because of the quality of the opposition.

"Having got four points from the two games at home, to win here was crucial for us. I wanted us to be mentally right and, after the first 10 minutes, I felt that was the case."

Southgate believes the predatory skills of Tuncay can make a big difference to his side.

He said: "There is no doubt that Tuncay has made a big difference to us since coming back into the side although the number of goals he scores is probably the one area he needs to improve."