RADIO Five presenter Mark Clemmit certainly won't forget his visit to Blackburn in hurry!

The roving reporter is currently in the middle of a whistle-stop tour of the 92 professional football grounds in England and Wales as part of a special feature for the station's Monday night sports programme.

But how he must have wished he had driven straight past the signs for Ewood after these two old adversaries served up some of the most unappetising fare he will have sampled anywhere this season.

On paper at least, you could see what had initially enticed Clemmit to East Lancashire for this fixture in what was the latest instalment in his voyage of discovery.

During the previous seven days, Rovers had performed majestically against the champions of both England and Scotland to underline the great strides made under Graeme Souness, while Villa were busy making a point at Old Trafford. So surely Ewood was the place to be?

But, if those were champagne moments in a season which has so far consisted of more highs than lows, then this felt like the hangover as both sides stumbled their way through 90 instantly forgettable minutes in what was hardly a glowing advert for 'the Beautiful Game.'

"We were disappointing from start to finish," said Damien Duff, rather bluntly, as he reflected on a missed opportunity.

"The gaffer told us before we went out that we had to start quickly because we started off badly following our last European game but the same thing happened again. We were never at the races.

"We never really got going and I think over the 90 minutes they deserved a draw and could even have nicked a win in the end because they had the better chances."

All that was a far cry from three days earlier when there had been a fizz about Rovers' play as they dared to give Celtic a lesson in free-flowing football in their own backyard.

That intoxicating blend of passing and movement won respect, as well as admirers, north and south of the border.

But any thoughts of that being re-enacted here were soon dispelled by a Villa side who revel in making life difficult for people.

Graham Taylor's side are functional rather than flamboyant but, for all their limitations in the flair department, they clearly know a thing or two about keeping things tight at the back.

Rovers huffed and puffed with Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke back in harness again up front, but the team as a whole rarely looked like snatching the win which would have lifted them up to the heady heights of fourth in the table.

One of the most impressive aspects of Thursday's performance was the way they had controlled the midfield with a calm assurance as Duff and David Thompson wreaked havoc down the flanks.

But that same authority in the engine room was clearly missing here as Villa worked tirelessly to close people down whenever they found themselves in a yard of space.

As a result, Rovers' flair players struggled to get a proper foothold, and there was a general lack of fluidity about the home side going forward.

Having said that, it didn't help matters that David Dunn was suffering from the effects of a bug and he struggled to influence proceedings from his position in the centre.

But Souness later pinned the blame for his side's overall lethargy on the fact that this was Rovers' third game in a week and some of his players were beginning to feel the physical and mental strain of that work-load.

Villa had hardly arrived at Ewood in the best of health, themselves, having taken just one point from their previous five away trips and Olof Melleberg's goal at Old Trafford last week was their first away from Villa Park this season.

So Taylor must have feared the worst when Rovers carved his side open with their first meaningful attack after barely two minutes.

Dunn picked out Cole with an exquisite cross delivered with the outside of his boot but the former England man's goal-bound header was touched onto the crossbar by Peter Enckelman at full stretch.

That should have been the catalyst for a sustained spell of pressure but it never materialised as Rovers struggled to reproduce the pace and precision which had won them so many admirers in Glasgow.

As the half wore on, Villa grew in confidence and Juan Pablo Angel served notice of their intentions with two headers which flashed inches wide of the target.

Clearly dissatisfied, Souness must have made his feelings known during his half-time team-talk because Rovers emerged for the second half looking far more purposeful.

Cole tricked and teased his way past a defender on the left but his cross from the bye-line somehow evaded Thompson, Yorke and Flitcroft who were queuing up to prod it home.

Then Duff went desperately close with two efforts in the space of a minute -- the first brilliantly saved by the outstretched boot of Enckelman after his shot had taken a wicked deflection.

In contrast, little was seen of Villa as an attacking force although they were left to rue a glaring miss by Dion Dublin in the 69th minute from what was the best chance of the game.

Gareth Barry, who looked impressive on the left, raced to the bye-line from where he cut a great ball back for the former Manchester United striker but he somehow squirted his shot wide with the goal at his mercy.

With time running out, Rovers had a late chance to steal all three points when Tugay's astute pass sent Cole clear but he skied his shot high into the Blackburn End -- it was that kind of day.

ROVERS 0

VILLA 0

Att: 23,004