Soccer - Birmingham 3 West Ham 1 (Birmingham win 4-3 on aggregate):Craig Gardner struck the winner as Birmingham City set up a League Cup final against Arsenal after coming from behind to beat West Ham United 4-3 on aggregate.

With West Ham leading 2-1 after the first leg, the Londoners went further ahead thanks to a curling long-range strike from Carlton Cole in the first half before Birmingham turned things on their head after the break.

Midfielder Lee Bowyer struck against his former club and Roger Johnson levelled the tie on aggregate to send it into extra time as Birmingham woke up from their lethargy following the introduction of lively Serbia striker Nikola Zigic.

Gardner, who hit the post twice in normal time, finally found the net with a right-footed shot low into the left corner in the 94th to give Birmingham the lead for the first time in the tie and they held on to win 3-1 on the night.

Match-winner Gardner savoured an “unbelievable” experience after firing his boyhood club to Wembley.

“It’s unbelievable, you dream of these things," he said. “I was saying to my mates I wanted to get the winner to take us there and to do it was unbelievable.”

Keeper Ben Foster admitted Birmingham had done things the hard way, saying: “As always, it takes a goal against to get us going.

“(The final) will be a great event for the fans, it’s been a while and for a lot of the lads, it may be the only time we play in a final.

“We’ve got nothing to lose, its a one-off game and anything can happen. We’ve just got to play like we did in the second half and hopefully get the result.”

Selected Results

Carling Cup Semi Final Second Leg
Birmingham 3-1 West Ham
(Birmingham win 4-3 aet)

Premier League
Liverpool 1-0 Fulham

Scottish Premier League
Celtic 4-0 Hearts
Hibernian 0-2 Rangers
Inverness CT 0-2 Aberdeen
St Johnstone 1-0 Motherwell
St Mirren 1-1 Dundee Utd