Fourth-tier Bradford City continued their League Cup fairytale by completing a sensational 4-3 aggregate semi-final win over Aston Villa on Tuesday that sent them into the final.
After James Hanson had cancelled out Christian Benteke's opener for Villa, Andreas Weimann scored in the 89th minute to give the hosts a 2-1 win, but it could not keep Bradford from a first major final since they won the 1911 FA Cup.
League Two side Bradford, who had previously accounted for Arsenal and Wigan Athletic in the competition, become the first team from England's fourth level to reach the League Cup final since Rochdale in 1962.
The biggest game in the Yorkshire club's modern history will occur at Wembley Stadium on February 24, when they will face either Chelsea or Swansea City, who resume hostilities on Wednesday with Swansea 2-0 up from the first leg.
For Paul Lambert's Villa, it was the latest embarrassment in a disappointing season in which they were thrashed 8-0 by Chelsea and slipped to within one place of the Premier League relegation zone.
Villa manager Lambert hailed Charles N'Zogbia's performance in Saturday's 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion and the French winger was at the fore as the hosts made a storming start on a freezing night in Birmingham.
Three times within the opening 16 minutes he found Benteke's head from the right flank.
Matthew Lowton headed a knock-down from the Belgian over the crossbar in the sixth minute, while Benteke directed a header straight at Bradford goalkeeper Matt Duke 10 minutes later.
Fabian Delph shot over following a surging foray down the centre of the pitch and Gabriel Agbonlahor worked Duke with a low shot before Villa took the lead in the 24th minute.
This time the chance came from the left, with Joe Bennett shaping an inviting cross into the area that Benteke leapt to volley past Duke at the near post.
It was one-way traffic and, after Stephen Ireland had his goal ruled out for offside, Duke produced a superb one-handed save to tip an N'Zogbia drive over the top before dealing with a chipped Ireland shot in the same fashion.
Benteke bundled a lofted Ireland cross narrowly wide at the back post, but just as it looked as if Villa were set to run riot, Nakhi Wells served a reminder of Bradford's threat with a left-foot shot that curled just wide.
The halftime whistle will have come as some relief to the visitors but within 10 minutes of the restart, they had reasserted their control of the tie.
As on several occasions in the first leg at Valley Parade, Villa were undone from a set-piece, with Hanson slipping past Ron Vlaar to meet Gary Jones' corner with a header that rocketed into the roof of the net.
The goal sparked delirium on the visiting bench but Hanson spurned a glorious chance to put Bradford three goals up on aggregate moments later when he completely miscued his header from a right-wing cross.
Weimann revived the tie in the penultimate minute after skipping past Duke on the edge of the Bradford area and rolling the ball home, but thanks to some desperate defending, the underdogs held on.
AFP
