Alves potential excites Southgate

Had record signing Alves, making his first start for the club, not passed up an early chance to open the scoring with a close-range header and then seen a blistering free-kick parried by Kenny, the game could have been over long before.

But delighted manager Gareth Southgate said: "He was bright, he showed a few flashes of what is going to come."

He added: "There was one free-kick that we were standing behind and we thought, 'He is not going to hit this', and it moved all over the place.

"It was good to give him a start - it was obviously not the most popular decision to take him off, but we were very conscious that it was his first game and with Reading on Saturday as well, we had to have an eye on both things."

The Teessiders needed an own goal from United keeper Paddy Kenny seven minutes from the end of extra-time to claim the win.

In truth, had it not been for Kenny's heroics, Boro would have won far more comfortably than they did, and it was cruel luck he could only help Mido's shot into his own net after it had looped up off defender Chris Morgan and come back off the post.

Southgate said: "We had had enough good play that we had not profited from.

"They will feel very harshly done by that the goal went in in the manner it did, although if it had not gone in, I think there would have been a fair handball shout against Chris Morgan because it was a good full-length save by the looks of it.

"But I am pleased with the resilience we showed," he said.