Aston Villa 6-4 Blackburn Rovers
Ashley Young (left) and James Milner (centre) both scored in Villa's convincing victory
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By Darren Plant. |  |
Wednesday, 20, Jan 2010 10:39
By Alistair Potter.
Aston Villa fought their way into the final of the Carling Cup after a scintillating semi-final second leg against Blackburn Rovers at Villa Park.
Three goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half for the home side put the result beyond doubt after two early strikes from Niko Kalinic had turned the tie on its head - which Villa went into 1-0 up after the first leg.
Villa's Steven Warnock levelled the aggregate scores with a driven finish midway through the first half before James Milner equalised from the penalty spot late in the first half after Chris Samba had been sent off, putting the home side in the ascendancy.
An own goal from Steven Nzonzi early in the second period gave Villa a two-goal cushion on aggregate before Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey effectively put the tie beyond Rovers.
Martin Olsson netted with a spectacular overhead kick and Brett Emerton took advantage of a slack Villa backline to bring the score back to 5-4 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate.
But Villa held on comfortably with the man advantage to seal their place at Wembley, putting the icing on the cask with Ashley Young's curling late finish.
The home side started very sluggishly, with Blackburn making all the running in the early stages.
And Sam Allardyce's side were rewarded for their industry when Kalinic rose highest to a corner and headed the visitors ahead on the night and level in the tie.
In an electric atmosphere, Villa looked somewhat shell-shocked and continued to be second best.
Shortly afterwards they were 2-0 down - goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who was at fault for the opener after flapping at a cross, made an excellent close-range save from Olsson's header but Kalinic was on hand to turn home the rebound and send the visiting fans into raptures.
A lethargic Villa gradually began to spring to life and they were back on terms in the tie within five minutes - Rovers old boy Stephen Warnock firing home Ashley Young's cross.
The turning point of the match came in the 40th minute though.
Agbonlahor ran clear of the defence but was clearly brought down from behind by Samba, leaving referee Martin Atkinson little choice but to award the penalty and send off the towering Rovers defender.
Milner, cool as a cucumber, despatched the spot-kick with aplomb to put Villa ahead.
Villa now had a man advantage and it showed in the early stages of the second period.
First, a scramble in the six-yard box involving Richard Dunne, Ryan Nelsen and several others Rovers defenders ended when Nelsen inadvertently turned the ball into his own net off team-mate Nzonzi.
Then, four minutes later, Agbonlahor added to Villa's lead when Milner's shot from distance hit him on the hip and cannoned past Paul Robinson.
Heskey made it 5-2 on the night when he latched onto Milner's through ball and rounded Robinson to fire into the empty net.
But Blackburn weren't finished just yet, and Olsson gave the massed Rovers ranks reason to believe the most unlikely of comebacks could be on the cards when his spectacular overhead kick from 12 yards after an excellent move down the Villa right beat Guzan at the far post.
Chances for Heskey, Young and Agbonlahor went begging before Emerton's weak shot from the edge of the box evaded everyone and trickled through Guzan's legs for the visitors' fourth.
However, playing with a man less, a tired Blackburn side never looked like troubling Villa's overall lead.
And Martin O'Neill's men ended the night on a high as Ashley Young curled home his first and the home team's sixth as the claret and blue flags waved ever higher.
As the final whistle blew the home fans invaded the pitch with 'Que sera sera...' ringing around the ground - signalling Villa's first League Cup final since they beat Leeds United 3-0 to lift the trophy in 1996.