THE PENT-UP fury and frustration finally erupted as Alen Boksic made his way out of the Riverside Stadium.

In words not suitable for a family newspaper, the Croatian striker cursed and slammed his fist down on a nearby table.

His body language during Saturday's game had suggested all was not well in the mind of the former Lazio star.

Back in Middlesbrough's starting line-up after a bout of flu, Boksic had every reason to feel aggrieved.

The £2.5m capture, reputedly picking up £63,000-a-week, was clearly determined to earn every penny of that king's ransom.

But as Boro boss Bryan Robson stressed in his preamble to this match, after Villa's Paul Merson claimed the credit for the Teessiders' promotion three seasons ago, this is a team game.

And for all his power, pace, verve and vision, Boksic knew he was outnumbered.

Robson, though, must have been a mite alarmed by the way the 30-year-old frontman appeared to operate on a higher plane to his teammates.

Fabrizio Ravanelli was another striker who quit Italy's Serie A for Teesside. The 'White Feather' joined Boro from Juventus in a record £7m deal and scored 31 goals in his one full season at the Riverside.

But goalkeeper Gary Walsh, who played in the same Boro side as Ravanelli and is currently spending a second spell with the club on loan from Bradford, can testify to the superiority of Boksic.

"He's got a far quicker brain than Ravanelli and he rarely gives the ball away in training,'' said Walsh.

"He's absolutely clinical when he is one-on-one with the keeper.

"You can bank on him to score every time.''

Before this game, Boksic's strike-rate suggested that was the case. He had scored three goals in as many Premiership appearances and came agonisingly close to maintaining - or bettering - that impressive ratio.

A curling, 20-yard free-kick from his right boot drifted narrowly wide of the angle in the 26th minute.

And his patience began to wear thin when he was booked seven minutes before half-time for dissent, an indiscretion which will result in a club fine under Boro's code of discipline.

Four minutes into the second period he set up Robbie Mustoe with a brilliant flick, but the midfielder blazed over the bar.

Soon afterwards, Boksic was on the end of Keith O'Neill's chipped free-kick with a firm header which Villa keeper David James held at his near post.

But his two best efforts came as Boro desperately chased the game after a Walsh gaffe gifted Villa a 74th-minute lead.

The keeper made a mess of an attempted clearance deep inside his box and Dion Dublin, who had hit the bar with a header seven minutes earlier, seized on the loose ball to feed substitute Julian Joachim for an angled finish.

A minute later, Boksic looked to the heavens as his header was knocked off the line by Villa left-back Alan Wright.

But he should have scored four minutes from time when he raced clear before pushing his shot just wide of the far post.

At that point Boro looked beaten, but after James had turned away Mark Summerbell's stinging effort, the Gods smiled again on Robson in the penultimate minute.

It had taken two goals in the final three minutes to beat Macclesfield in the Worthington Cup last week, and Boro needed to conjure another late show to deny Villa.

Skipper Paul Ince played the ball across goal and Turkish defender Alpay Ozalan, a £5.6m signing from Fenerbahce, slid it into his own net.

No-one was more relieved than Walsh, who had made partial amends with two terrific late saves.

"For the goal, I just didn't see Dublin coming - he came up on my blindside,'' said Walsh.

"I was very pleased with the two saves but I'm disappointed to have let that goal in. That's the overriding thing for me.

"Luckily enough we got out of it with a point. It was a lucky goal for us.''

Walsh agreed to rejoin Boro when injuries claimed keepers Mark Schwarzer, Mark Crossley and Marlon Beresford.

"I've only seen the lads once for training,'' said Walsh.

"I still train with Bradford and I'm only here one day a week - it's too far to travel every day.

"I'm not going to stay here, but I'm just glad to be playing again.

"I haven't played in the Premiership for nearly 12 months. At Bradford there are three keepers, so I can't even put myself in the shop window.

"While I'm here, I would love to prove things to people - it's a chance for me to show what I can do.''

Boro's escape was almost too much for Merson.

The former Riverside star, mercilessly baited by the Boro faithful all afternoon, was disconsolate as he trudged off, the last man to leave the field.

But what the Boro fans who taunted Merson should realise is that it is the type of creativity he possesses, particularly in coming from deep positions, that their side are so badly lacking.

Without such support, Boksic's apparent disillusionment will surely grow