Analysis: Relentless Aston Villa are the masters of the late show

It is now four times in the last five games Unai Emery’s men have scored a decisive goal in the 85th minute or later, Saturday’s 87th minute winner at Middlesbrough enough to earn Villa’s first FA Cup win in nearly eight years.

For all the concern over displays which have been more efficient than exhilarating since last month’s performance for the ages against Manchester City, Villa’s knack of nicking results at the death is not suggest a team running out of steam.

True, there were long periods of Saturday’s match in which they looked a little laboured and short of answers against a disciplined home defence.

But Boro, just like Brentford, Sheffield United and Brentford before them, discovered Villa are a side who simply do not quit.

Matty Cash’s winner might have contained a large element of fortune, deflecting off Emmanuel Latte Lath to deceive goalkeeper Tom Glover, yet on the overall balance of play you couldn’t really call it undeserved.

Had Villa not found the breakthrough, much of the post-match focus would have fallen on a lack of ruthlessness. Ezri Konsa was unlucky when glancing a header against the post but Alex Moreno then couldn’t even hit the target from six yards out, while substitute Moussa Diaby missed the ball when found unmarked near the penalty spot.

Glover also twice denied Jhon Duran in the first half, before keeping out a John McGinn effort with his fingertips. There were few complaints about the goalkeeper being awarded man-of-the-match. Aside from a 15-minute spell midway through the second half, when the hosts became bolder and there were a few nervous clearances from the Villa box as you wondered whether their FA Cup hoodoo might strike again, the visitors were largely in control throughout. Emi Martinez was called into just one rather routine save in the 90 minutes.

Victory was reward for Emery staying true to his pre-match promise and naming a team which proved he and his players, who had spoken openly in meetings beforehand about the humiliation of last year’s defeat to League Two Stevenage, are taking this competition seriously. The Premier League and Europa Conference League might have held the attention to this point but Emery wants to keep as many avenues to glory open as possible.

Of the four changes made to the starting XI from the previous league match against Burnley, two brought the return of players unavailable for that fixture in Cash and Boubacar Kamara. One got the winner, while the other was Villa’s best player, dominating the midfield and ensuring any brief moments of alarm, when it looked as though Boro might break away, were quickly quelled.

Kamara, too often unheralded, was undoubtedly missed during festive period when he sat out three matches through suspension, yet in many ways his performance at the Riverside felt symptomatic of a match which reinforced some suspicions about this Villa team but didn’t perhaps teach us a whole lot new.

It was already clear they will need to find ways of breaking down opponents content to sit deep and frustrate. Boro, like Sheffield United and to a lesser extent Burnley before them, used the tactic effectively and it was fortune, rather than flair, which saw Villa finally make the breakthrough. You were reminded Villa have looked noticeably less incisive since Youri Tielemans was lost to injury.

They got a little better when Douglas Luiz arrived off the bench as Emery called for the cavalry with 20 minutes remaining. Leander Dendoncker, the man he replaced, had not performed badly by any means but with Kamara doing much of the dirty work, this never felt a day when Villa needed two defensively-minded players in the middle. The Belgium international’s tendency to slow play down did not help the visitors build rhythm.

Saturday also provided a reminder, not that one was probably needed, why Duran has found starts hard to come by.

The Colombia international, subject of much noise during the opening days of the transfer window, added a further buzz in the hours before kick-off by the thoroughly modern method of removing all mention of Villa from his social media channels, then restoring them just prior to the team being announced.

Yet presented with the chance to show why he is deserving of more game time, he rather failed to deliver. The two shots which drew saves from Glover were a reminder of his ability to create danger from not much but for large parts he was well shackled by Boro defender Matt Clarke and Villa’s attacks lacked the focal point typically provided by Ollie Watkins.

Frequently an agent of chaos when brought off the bench against tiring teams, Duran looks noticeably less effective in longer spells when energy must be conserved.

Emery was in no mood to talk about reports linking the striker with a move to AC Milan yet with the window still in its infancy, we probably haven’t heard the last of it.

Thanks to Cash, the same applies to Villa and the FA Cup. Defeat at the Riverside would have seen them become the first club from the top two divisions to lose nine straight ties. Victory delivered the bonus of avoiding a replay which would have impacted plans for their winter break. Even in that scenario you would have backed a Villa team for whom every match, every minute is important to get the job done.