THE LAST time such an all-star cast was assembled by Middlesbrough they ended up in the Nationwide League.

That looks unlikely to happen again, but having been lifted by the pre-match loan signing of Chelsea winger Boudewijn Zenden, they must be wondering how they managed to lose for the third time this season, thanks to Mark Viduka’s last-minute winner.

When Juninho followed up Szilard Nemeth’s goal to make it two in three minutes early in the second half, Boro looked irresistible, with Juninho and Gaizka Mendieta coaxing Steve McClaren’s side forward with a silky touch.

But Mendieta missed a wonderful late chance to cap an impressive home debut with what surely would have been the winner, after Zoumana Camara had levelled for the visitors 13 minutes from time.

And Leeds, who deserved some reward for their positive approach, made the most of that reprieve to record their first win of the season thanks to Viduka, who capitalised on Andrew Davies’s slip to lob home what Leeds — who this week rebuffed an approach from Inter Milan for the Australian — hope won’t be his last goal for the club.

“The players are really pleased,” said Leeds manager Peter Reid. “We needed that one. I think we had forgotten how to win, as a team and a club. Hopefully that will change things round for us.

“Middlesbrough put us under a lot of pressure but we kept on going. We changed it round and went for it and we came up with the goods. We lost a lot of games in the last 10 minutes last season. Let’s hope this is the start of something different.”

Zenden has moved to the Riverside stadium for a year after fighting a losing battle to gain a place in Chelsea’s overcrowded dressing-room.

“Everyone knows the situation at Chelsea and for me to be playing here is the perfect solution,” said the 27-year-old Holland international.

If he had time to watch any of the game it will have whetted his appetite for lining up on the opposite flank to Mendieta, with Juninho buzzing around inside in a midfield that could match many in the Premiership.

Juninho rained in a handful of efforts before missing Middlesbrough’s best chance of the opening half, lobbing too high after Paul Robinson had dashed off his line to beat Joseph-Desire Job to Mendieta’s through-ball.

By then, though, Leeds were in front. Jermaine Pennant, borrowed from Arsenal and one of the game’s outstanding performers, had already seen an effort deflected just wide when he threaded a wonderful ball through for on-loan Marseille midfielder Lamine Sakho to score his first goal for the club.

Middlesbrough’s pressure finally brought them an equaliser 15 minutes into the second half when Nemeth, who had just put one chance wide, beat Robinson from Mendieta’s pass, and Juninho’s thumping volley then looked to have completed the fight-back.

However, Reid’s decision to replace Ian Harte with attack-minded midfielder Aaron Lennon paid off as Leeds forced a corner from which the impressive Camara headed home. Then, after Mendieta had passed up two openings, Davies’s error allowed Viduka the final say.

“The mistake is there in black and white and that led to the third goal. But we had enough chances to win three games,” said McClaren.

“The performance was very, very good and when you look beyond the result it’s a feeling of disbelief that we’ve come away pointless and come away getting beaten. There’s no panic at this stage.”

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Mills, Davies, Southgate, Parnaby (Stockdale 52min), Mendieta, Boateng, Juninho, Greening, Nemeth (Ricketts 88min), Job (Christie 82min)

Leeds: Robinson, Kelly, Camara, Matteo, Harte (Lennon 71min), Pennant, Morris, Johnson, Sakho (Radebe 84min), Viduka, Smith

Scorers: Middlesbrough: Nemeth 60, Juninho 63

Leeds: Sakho 16, Camara 77,

Viduka 89

Referee: N Barry

Attendance: 30,414

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