Despite their indifferent League form, Villa have emerged from two absorbing but totally contrasting Cup-ties to book a fifth-round ticket at Swindon on Saturday week.

And anyone lucky enough to have witnessed last-night's heart stopping victory over dogged Derby will be clamouring for front row seats at the County Ground.

In terms of artistic interpretation, this display wasn't in the same class as last month's graceful exhibition at Tottenham.

But if the White Hart Lane show was one for the purists, the close confines of a packed Baseball Ground provided the perfect setting for a thrilling, chilling English cup-tie.

The action was fast, furious and frantic, with barely time to catch breath.

Anyone who dared to look away for a moment was in danger of losing the whole thread.

It was even difficult to distinguish the hero from the villain, with hat-trick star Dwight Yorke also failing twice from the penalty spot to leave a pulsating encounter balanced on a knife edge.

Indeed, the bad guys almost outnumbered the goodies with Polish full back Dariusz Kubicki sent off for two bookable offences.

Yet the match was all the more enthralling for it's darker aide. Mistakes were in plentiful supply, even from the normally unruffled Paul McGrath, but no-one was complaining after such gripping entertainment.

Derby snatched a fifth minute lead. Menacing lan Ormondroyd and Martin Chalk combined to set up Ted McMinn on the left, and the menacing winger's leftfoot drive looped goalwards off Les Sealey's legs, with ex-Holte Ender Phil Gee nodding home as the ball crossed the line.

Villa could have been excused for fearing the worst after their early fright, having scored just twice In seven games since the turn of the year.

Yet when McGrath headed on Richardson's ninth-minute corner, and Yorke applied the finish at close range the shot was helped in by Shilton.

One uncharacteristic error was as much as Villa dared expect from the former England keeper, but when he failed to hold Froggatt's 19th-minute flag kick, the alert Yorke gratefully hooked his team into the lead.

Four minutes later, the tie should have been all over. Garry Parker strode forward from the halfway line to plant a 25-yard right-foot shot past the static Stilton and in off the bar for his first Villa goal. But such were the twists and turns of this incredible drama that we witnessed two more goals before a turbulent first half had run its course.

No sooner had Gee headed his second from McMinn's left-wing cross than Simon Coleman held back livewire Yorke in front of Derby's goal. The Calypso Kid failed with his first Villa penalty as Shilton guessed directly and dived left, but promptly claimed his hat-trick by sweeping in the rebound.

Coleman's handball from a Richardson free-kick on 56 minutes presented Yorke with a second spot kick and the chance to put the issue beyond recall. This time Shilton dived right, held a weakly-hit shot, and left no-one in any doubt that Steve Staunton will resume as Villa’s penalty taker when he recovers from his groin strain.

Three minutes later, Jason Kavanagh's quickly-taken free-kick and Chalk's precise cross paved the way for Paul Williams to volley the best goal of the night as the ball screamed past a diving Sealey.

Tension From the on we were back on the edge of our seats.

Kubicki's departure 15 minutes from time merely heightened the tension, and the visitors were a shade fortunate to survive County's late onslaught.

The script writers now have 10 days in which to prepare the next chapter of Villa's Cup story.