They may as well rename it Selhurst Cemetery whenever Aston Villa venture south of the Thames. The Thornton Heath venue has resembled a House of Horrors in recent years, with Villa failing to put a single goal past the Eagles on their last four visits.

It was the graveyard, too, for Ron Atkinson's FA Cup dreams, as sitting tenants Wimbledon won last Wednesday's late night penalty shoot-out.

And the pain of that agonising exit had barely subsided when miserly landlords Palace last night served a temporary eviction order on Villa's Premier League title aspirations.

Victory over Palace would have put Big Ron's boys at the head of the table, but for the second time in the last few weeks, they discovered a few hard facts about life at the top.

Both on statistical evidence and the magic of last Saturday's form against Ipswich, it would have been reasonable to expect at least a point from games at Southampton and Palace.

In both instances, though, there had been only disappointment and dejection against very ordinary opposition - even if Villa will never quite understand how they came to suffer their latest setback.

There were times last night when I was convinced Atkinson's men had taken out a season ticket for Palace's half of the pitch, such was the one-sided nature of the contest.

For the first 25 minutes of the second half, Palace looked like they needed a visa to cross the half-way as Ray Houghton and inspirational skipper Kevin Richardson directed the traffic firmly towards the opposite end.

Villa’s dominance was almost embarrassing.

This, though, was one of those nights when absolutely nothing came off.

Dean Saunders had an effort ruled out for hand ball after Dwight Yorke's header had been tipped away by goalkeeper Nigel Martyn; Houghton headed weakly at Martyn when it seemed easier to score; Yorke drove against the keeper's legs when he, too should have done better.

Even when the visitors forced four consecutive corners in a frantic injury time spell, there was somehow a sense of resignation, particularly when Saunders' close range drive cannoned off a defender's legs and went behind yet again.

Midfielder Bobby Bowry had scored the only goal with a firm 15-yard drive after only nine minutes.

But Villa will justifiably feel they were handed rough justice in South London for the second time in eight days, even if their frustration was tempered by defeat for fellow contenders Norwich City.