DOWN-and-out Birmingham City received another derby hiding here last night Aston Villa showed no mercy after their Littlewoods destruction with a six-goal Simod Cup thrashing.

Alan Mclnally led the rout with two goals and there was one apiece for defenders Allan Evans, Derek Mountfield and Bernie Gallacher and midfielder David Platt.

For Villa it was another step on the road to Wembley for Birmingham another step on the road to oblivion.

Blues’ resistance was lowered after just 214 seconds by Platt. Cowans stroked in Villa’s first corner and from Keown’s flick-on Platt pounced for his fourth goal of the season.

Garry Pendrey’s shellshocked troops mounted a token come-back and with a little more composure Langley would have netted a 17th minute equaliser.

Villa conceded a flurry of corners but it was merely the lull before the storm.

A sensational four-goal burst in eight minutes killed the tie and killed Birmingham stone dead.

Mclnally did the spadework in the 34th minute for Gallacher to blast home.

The Cowans and Keown corner combination enabled Mountfield to apply a deft finishing touch for the third three minutes later.

Number four was provided by leading scorer Mclnally who streaked on to Gage’s throughball and applied the perfect finish.

Evans added the fifth in the 42nd minute from yet another Cowans’ corner.

Villa boss Graham Taylor introduced the substitutes Andy and Stuart Gray after half-time But Blues kept fighting and Atkins rattled a shot wide with Butler out of position.

Teenage striker Yates came within inches of netting a consolation goal in the 65th minute.

But Villa were gifted a sixth goal in the 75th minute when Mclnally capitalised on a defensive mistake and scored his second with an almost disdainful drive from 20 yards.