Birmingham City are heading to their first Wembley Final for 55 years after beating West Ham 4-3 on aggregate in their Carling Cup semi-final. Birmingham will play Arsenal in the final on the 27 February. Buy Carling Cup Final Tickets
Leading 2-1 from the first leg, West Ham seemed to have a place at Wembley all locked up when Carlton Cole put them one up (and 3-1 on aggregate) in the 31st minute. Cole took advantage of a mix-up between Birmingham midfielders Barry Ferguson and Gardner to unleash a right-footed shot from 25 yards that curved in beautifully at the far post.
That was the only score in the first half and the Hammers came out for the second half knowing that they were only 45 minutes from Wembley.
Birmingham needed at two goals to send the game to extra time and they threw everything they could at West Ham in the second half. Substitute Nikola Zigic made an immediate impact by heading down a ball that Craig Gardner struck into the inside of the post.
Birmingham kept up the pressure and when West Ham failed to clear a corner Lee Bowyer was left unmarked to send a left-footed volley into the top left corner in the 59th minute.
Twenty minutes later Roger Johnson headed in from Seb Larsson’s corner and suddenly the tie was all-square. Birmingham almost won it in normal time when Gardner’s shot was turned on to the post by keeper Robert Green.
Instead the match went into extra time and Gardner found it was third time lucky when West Ham allowed him far too much room on the edge of the area and he slammed the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
West Ham still had chances after Gardner’s goal to get the goal that would have instead sent them to Wembley as Scott Parker went just wide, Kieron Dyer volleyed just over and Cole shot straight at Ben Foster, but somehow Birmingham hung on.
