Villa expose neighbours' frailties

Aston Villa 5 Birmingham 1:THE POUNDING taken, the surrender complete, a blue and white scarf landed near a corner flag on the final whistle like a white towel thrown seconds after the hapless victim had hit the canvas. As a reflection on Birmingham City's annihilation in the 115th second-city derby it was entirely appropriate. As an act of defiance it was as futile and ineffectual as anything produced by Alex McLeish's sorry team yesterday. The only shock was that a Birmingham City supporter was left inside Villa Park to launch it.

The travelling hordes began queuing for the exits from the 63rd minute of this destruction, the pain of a torturous weekend matched only by the delight of the Aston Villa sadists as they revelled in their heaviest league win over their rivals for 48 years.

Consigned to the relegation zone by Bolton Wanderers' victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday, Birmingham's response was shaped by self-pity not self-confidence and their survival prospects look slim.

If there was any consolation for those from St Andrew's then it was that they had met a Martin O'Neill team in magnificent form. With 15 goals in three league games Villa have revived their prospects of a Uefa Cup finish and, in Gareth Barry, Ashley Young and John Carew, they have a triumvirate to savour, as the watching Fabio Capello surely did.

There was only anguish for McLeish. His side began encouragingly here but once David Murphy had missed the game's first clear chance and Mehdi Nafti had squandered a glorious opportunity to level, their weaknesses were fatally exposed.

Villa eased into the ascendancy and commenced a ruthless display. The visiting team resembled total strangers as the pace and movement of Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor worked on their fragile resilience, and the power and subtle touch of Carew was one problem too many for Birmingham's defence. Behind this three-pronged attack shone Barry, who conducted the rout with a masterly display of composure and technique.

For Villa's opening goal, Barry's right-wing cross was only half cleared by Liam Ridgewell, the former Villa centre-half, and after Olof Mellberg sliced his attempt on goal the ball fell kindly to Young who swept his half-volley beyond Maik Taylor.

The onslaught was given impetus when Carew, unmarked by Stephen Kelly for a Young free-kick, glanced a header beyond the Birmingham goalkeeper minutes before the interval. The breather did nothing for Birmingham's inability to track the claret-and-blue runs behind their demoralised and unprotected rearguard.

Barry easily held off a challenge from Ridgewell as they pursued Young's delicate chip forward and squared the ball wide of Taylor for Carew to roll in his 12th goal of the season. Zarate reacted to his deserved substitution by kicking seven bells out of an advertising hoarding but the visitors' misery continued regardless, with Young waltzing inside Kelly and converting beyond Taylor.

Zarate's replacement, Mikael Forssell grabbed a consolation goal but Agbonlahor added his name to the scoresheet, seizing on Ridgewell's header and Kelly's hesitation to drive low beyond Taylor, it was time for one Birmingham complainer to untie his scarf.