Bradford stun Aston Villa to reach League Cup final

Bradford became the first fourth-tier club to reach the League Cup final for 51 years after beating Aston Villa 4-3 on aggregate on this day in 2013.

Villa were unable to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit in their Capital One Cup semi-final, even though goalscorer Christian Benteke put them ahead in the second leg before half-time.

James Hanson’s header early in the second period effectively ended the tie and substitute Garry Thompson came inches from making a spectacular contribution when his shot hit the bar.

Villa manager Paul Lambert brought on a fourth striker in Andreas Weimann and put Villa ahead again late in the night after Benteke’s strike, but it was too little too late.

The final whistle was the cue for wild scenes of delight from Bradford manager Phil Parkinson and his players, who had overcome Arsenal in the previous round.

The only other lower division club to reach the final was Rochdale in 1962, when the competition was in its infancy and many of the top teams did not participate.

Unfortunately for Bradford, the final at Wembley proved a more unfortunate occasion as Swansea cruised to a 5-0 victory to qualify for the Europa League.

Nathan Dyer scored twice, Michu found the net before half-time and Jonathan de Guzman’s brace sealed the biggest win in finals history as Swansea secured their first significant silverware in their history.