It's a fair cop as Villa fans see red.

VILLA supporters greeted the final whistle at Blundell Park with chants of "What a waste of money."

I'm still trying to work out if they were referring to the unnecessary police cordon which prevented them from leaving the ground or the entertainment value of the previous 90 minutes.

The likelihood is that the fans' anger was directed at the boys in blue, but it might just as easily have been aimed at a contest sadly lacking in goalmouth incident.

Certainly there could have been no complaints about the defensive cordon thrown up by Villa to stifle Grimsby in this first leg Rumbelows League Cup-tie.

But if Ron Atkinson's men were solid and sound at the back, there was little else over which to enthuse.

After the sparkling performance which sank Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Villa's performance was almost totally flat.

Grimsby's non-stop graft made sure the visitors had to maintain their concentration, although the manager will be relieved that a succession of dreadful early passes were delivered well away from the danger zone.

Kevin Richardson, Gordon Cowans, Mark Blake and Paul McGrath were all guilty of putting colleagues under pressure with careless distribution, although more than half an hour passed before former Walsall and Blues player Gary Childs produced the Mariners' first shot.

Even in the second half, when Alan Buckley's eager outfit threatened to make a breakthrough, genuine opportunities were in short supply, although Nigel Spink breathed a sigh of relief when substitute Mark Smith's fierce drive deflected off Murray Jones and on to the bar.

If Grimsby dictated the pace, though, Villa still carved out the better openings.

Steve Staunton had one effort disallowed and Villa could have snatched victory when Cyrille Regis headed down a Staunton cross. But the onrushing Cowans, dropped last Saturday, could do no more than direct the ball harmlessly into Steve Sherwoods's arms.

The keeper's only real save, in fact, came right at the death when he dived to push aside a Regis shot, with Paul Mortimer putting the rebound wide.

Villa, in fairness, produced the game's odd moments of flair but true quality was very much In short supply, however, on a night when the priority was avoiding a shock result. Villa at least achieved that objective.