THERE is nothing like a big night of European football to stir the senses but, for most of this season, Middlesbrough's UEFA Cup matches have been nothing like a big night of European football.

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk can justifiably claim to be one of the biggest names in Europe - 20 letters undoubtedly takes some beating - but the Ukrainian minnows, and the likes of Skoda Xanthi and Litex Lovech, hardly represent continental competition at its best.

Since embarking on their maiden European voyage at the start of last season, Boro have been crying out for a glamour tie against one of Europe's big boys. Last night, at an expectant, but curiously under-populated, Riverside, it finally arrived.

Roma, three-time Italian champions and proven European performers following 28 previous campaigns, arrived on Teesside as UEFA Cup favourites following a 13-game unbeaten run in their domestic league.

By the time they departed, they were not even favourites to win this last-16 tie. Rome's Coliseum has staged plenty of epic battles in the past - Boro's players have proved they are ready for another one in the city's Stadio Olimpico next week.

On a mudbath that resembled the kind of North-Eastern surfaces Romans were fighting on two thousand years ago, it was the home side that performed like trojans last night.

Gareth Southgate and Chris Riggott marshalled their troops magnificently from the back, George Boateng carried the battle in midfield and, ahead of him, Gaizka Mendieta weighed in with the all-important killer touch. As far as battle plans go, this one was carried out to perfection.

Mendieta has made a habit of reserving his best performances for the matches that really matter. Inspired against Manchester United and impish against Chelsea, the 31-year-old was sporadically irresistible again last night.

Roman opposition meant unfinished business - a 12-month stay at Roma's big-city rivals, Lazio, ended ignominiously - and, if Italian observers were in any doubt as to the midfielder's enduring ability, they would surely have been won over by the slide-rule pass that led to Boro's vital early opener.

Question marks may have reappeared, however, when he wasted a glorious opportunity to make the game safe in the 82nd minute. Quite how important that miss could be will be revealed in due course.

James Richardson described Mendieta as "hideously slow" in yesterday's Northern Echo sport but, as the Premiership's leading lights have discovered this season, there is nothing sluggish about the Spaniard's brain.

A good passer is said to have a yard in his head - as Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink will attest, the quality of his team-mate's passing gave him at least two yards start as he galloped past Philippe Mexes to win the debatable penalty that tipped the tie Middlesbrough's way.

The remainder of the first half belonged to the home side but, while they dominated possession, they were unable to convert their territorial superiority into a clear-cut opening.

As a result, Roma emerged for the second half revitalised. With Rodrigo Taddei replacing the ineffectual Mancini as the visitors' lone striker, Boro's defenders found themselves dragged into areas of the field they would rather have left uninhabited.

They were even busier when Taddei was substituted for Stefano Chuka - a 16-year-old Nigerian who has already assumed the mantle of the African Wayne Rooney - on the hour mark. Perhaps chucking on Chuka was a sign that Roma coach Luciano Spalleti felt it was time to throw off his side's shackles.

If he did, then his ploy was only partially successful. The visitors perked up following the introduction of their teenage tyro, but neither side was able to improve their position ahead of next week's decider. With Boro's European hopes hanging in the balance, all roads really will lead to Rome.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.