Aston Villa's players delivered the best public apology and appeased supporters who came to jeer and then, demonstrating football's eternal fickleness, sang lustily of "going to Wembley". Afterwards the Victorian gates clanked shut, ranks closed and a brief peace reigned.
Whether the Trinity Road gates will stay effectively closed to the disgraced Savo Milosevic, the Second City's public enemy number one, remains to be seen. An unholy trinity for Brian Little, whose preoccupation is whether he can still accommodate the brooding Yugoslavian striker, dropped on Saturday, in the company of the maverick Stan Collymore and the trusty Dwight Yorke for the rest of Villa's angstridden season.
Many among Villa's sell-out crowd were eager to write off Milosevic - and the £3.5 million he cost - after Collymore and Yorke, released from his deep lying role, scored three goals between them in this rout of traditional rivals. Villa have finally found, crowed a newly appreciative audience, the striking combination Little has been fumbling for.
But have they? It is amazing what the Cup does to the mind, as well as the senses. The fact is that the anti-Milosevic brigade will have been spitting mad themselves had Villa failed to score against an anaemic West Bromwich Albion who looked thoroughly out of place - and out of their depth - at their neighbours' ground. To their great credit, Little's men went for Albion's throat from the kick-off.
Little purred about the partnership, but not that contentedly. "I was pleased with it. The variation got better as the game went on. They haven't played together a lot." Is this combination now first choice? Pause. "I don't have to think about that until the next game."
The Villa manager's mind was already on that next game - at home to rival under-achievers Newcastle next Sunday - and, yes, the possibility of Milosevic returning in front of the same fans who bayed for his head last week. Little may have little choice: Yorke may yet be forced to report for Trinidad and Tobago in the Gold Cup.
Milosevic may have been transfer-listed, reprimanded and, probably, fined around £10,000 but he will keep turning up like the proverbial bad penny. Which is what he will be roughly worth this summer if excluded from Villa squads and does not make enough appearances to have his work permit renewed.
"The bridges have not been broken entirely," said Little of the fraught relationship shortly before this tie. Sell him now, urged furious fans last week, overlooking the fact of no immediate English takers and that every projected sale abroad has come to grief. A cut price deal may be the classic way out, as is speculated in the case of his club-mate and fellow Serb Sasa Curcic, now available at £1 million. But Villa need Milosevic.
Yorke and Collymore had previously been strike partners in eight games; on five occasions neither scored. West Bromwich's light weight, unauthoritative central defence of Shaun Murphy and Tony Dobson invited goal punishment. Yorke's two in as many minutes were owed much to Albion errors; Collymore's angled shot was emphatic but beat Alan Miller inside his near post.
Collymore, all feint and flicks, seemed to have found his natural habitat amid slow-moving opponents permitting embarrassing space and time.
West Bromwich's top scorer Andy Hunt struggled for support until Micky Evans was introduced, when Albion were 3-0 down and with only 21 face-saving minutes left. It was a truly ragBaggie performance from the fourth minute when Simon Grayson powerfully exploited typically tentative Albion defending.
Aston Villa: Bosnich, Wright, Staunton (Charles 41), Southgate, Ehiogu, Grayson, Taylor, Draper, Hendrie, Yorke, Collymore. Subs Not Used: Joachim, Nelson, Hughes, Oakes. Booked: Taylor. Goals: Grayson 4, Yorke 62, 64, Collymore 72.
West Bromwich Albion: Miller, Holmes, Nicholson, Sneekes, Murphy, Dobson, Butler (Evans 69), Hamilton (Coldicott 78), Hughes (Flynn 78), Hunt, Kilbane. Subs Not Used: Burgess, Crichton. Booked: Butler, Nicholson.
Referee: N S Barry (Scunthorpe).
Murtaz Shelia of Manchester City (left) is challenged by West Ham's Eyal Berkovic during yesterday's FA Cup match. - (Photograph: Phil Cole/Allsport)
Manchester United's Andy Cole (right) tries to lose Walsall's Dean Keates during Saturday's FA Cup clash. - (Photograph: Alex Livesey/Allsport)
Aston Villa's Gareth Southgate (left) tries to clear from West Bromwich Albion's Kevin Kilbane during Saturday's FA Cup clash at Villa Park.
