Middlesbrough 0-1 Aston Villa

A late goal from Matty Cash saw Aston Villa to victory against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round at Riverside Stadium.

The full-back’s shot from the edge of the box took a wicked deflection as it spun past Tom Glover with three minutes left.

The visitors had dominated territory and possession in the first half, with Glover pulling off saves from Jhon Duran and Jacob Ramsey.

Boro’s goalkeeper continued to thwart Villa in the second half, denying John McGinn with a superb one-handed stop.

Ezri Konsa’s glancing header struck a post and Alex Moreno blasted over from close range before the away side broke through to progress to round four for the first time since 2016.

Head coach Unai Emery named a strong side on Villa’s first visit to Teesside since December 2018, making four changes from the 3-2 win against Burnley last time out.

Duran was one of the players to come into the starting XI and after a controlled start from the visitors, the striker forced Glover into a one-handed stop at his near post.

The Championship side, who sit 12^th in the second tier, were content to let Villa monopolise possession and sit back in a compact shape, forcing the men in white to play down the wings.

It was a tactic that was working well until a flurry of chances saw Ramsey and Duran call Glover into action and Leander Dendoncker head narrowly over from a corner.

Boro responded by launching their first offensive of note after 35 minutes, with Morgan Rogers’ drive parried wide by Emi Martinez, but the sides headed in level at half-time.

Villa’s set pieces have caused several teams problems this season, and corners created three chances in the opening minutes of the second half.

First, Glover superbly saved McGinn’s shot from the edge of the area following a well-worked move before Konsa glanced a header against the post and Moreno blasted over at the back post.

A quadruple change with just over 20 minutes left further signalled Emery’s intent to win the tie as Ollie Watkins, Nicolo Zaniolo, Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby were all introduced.

A vocal, 4,000-strong away support were in prime position to see Zaniolo curl a shot inches wide as the clock ticked down.

And just as the tie looked to be headed for a replay, a corner was worked to Cash, who took aim and saw his shot spin into the net off Emmanuel Latte Lath.