VILLA put a dreadful first half display behind them to sink battling Mil!wall with two goals in a six minutes spell in the Rumbelows League Cup.

The showdown between international teammates Villa's Tony Cascarino and Paul McGrath, and Millwall's Mick McCarthy failed to materialise.

The Lions left teak-tough McCarthy on the bench while McGrath has still not recovered from the knee injury that has sidelined him for the last three weeks.

It was former Mil!wall striker Cascarino, a £1.5 million signing by Graham Taylor in March, who put Villa on the way to victory with a 49th minute opener.

Cascarino silenced the taunts of the Millwall fans when he forced the ball home from close range after David Platt's header was blocked on the line following a Gordon Cowan's corner.

Platt made it 2-0 with his 10th goal of the campaign when he converted a 55th minute penalty after Keith Stevens had fouled lan Ormondroyd.

Villa, who managed to keep a sixth successive clean sheet, stepped up their game sufficiently to make it an unhappy return for Bruce Rioch.

Tony Daley came close to making it 3-0 while Teddy Sheringham wasted Millwall's best second half effort when he shot over from 10 yards.