Birmingham City’s dream of an FA and League Cup double came to an end on Saturday afternoon at St Andrews when Bolton ran out 3-2 winners thanks to a late goal by South Korean Lee Chung-yong.
Blues were looking to get back to Wembley in the FA Cup after gloriously winning the Carling Cup final. They came from behind twice in this game only to see Lee head home in the 90th minute and place Bolton in the semi finals for the first time since 2000.
The Trotters now return to Wembley while Birmingham have the pressing matter of staying in the Premier League to address.
Bolton fans are dreaming of winning the trophy as a tribute to the great Nat Lofthouse who scored two goals against Manchester United when they last won the competition in 1958.
Johan Elmander’s powerful left-foot strike sent the visitors on their way on 21 minutes, but Birmingham showed determination by getting back into the game on 38 minutes when Cameron Jerome headed home at the far post.
Davies restored Bolton’s lead when they were awarded a soft penalty when he hit the deck far too easily under a challenge from Curtis Davies on 66 minutes.
Then just 14 minutes later and veteran striker Kevin Phillips showed a moment of brilliance when he levelled the score for a second time.
Both sides then had more chances to score but it was Lee who took the glory when he netted after Davies had headed the ball across goal.
Blues: Ben Foster, Stuart Parnaby, David Murphy, Martin Jiranek (Liam Ridgewell 28), Curtis Davies, Seb Larsson, Barry Ferguson (Nathan Redmond 29), Jordon Mutch, Jean Beausejour, Cameron Jerome, Kevin Phillips.
Subs not used: Colin Doyle, Craig Gardner, Matt Derbyshire, Alpaslan Ozturk.
Bolton: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Gretar Steinsson, Paul Robinson, Gary Cahill, David Wheater, Fabrice Muamba (Mark Davies 61), Stuart Holden, Martin Petrov, Kevin Davies, Johan Elmander, Ivan Klasnic (Lee Chung-Yong 61).
Subs not used: Adam Bogdan, Matt Taylor, Rodrigo Moreno, Robbie Blake, Marcos Alonso.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffs)
Attendance: 23,699.
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