Cardiff City 1 - 0 Crystal Palace: Cardiff keeper Heaton is hero as Welsh go to Wembley

Cardiff City keeper Tom Heaton was the hero as his two penalty shootout saves helped the Bluebirds to their first ever Carling Cup final after a dramatic semi-final second leg at Cardiff City Stadium.

Cardiff, with four Scotland internationals in their ranks – Kenny Miller, Don Cowie, Craig Conway and Kevin McNaughton – had dominated the majority of the 120 minutes, and had led on the night after Anthony Gardner, Palace’s first-leg matchwinner, had put through his own net. The hosts struck the woodwork three times through Miller, Filip Kiss and Aron Gunnarsson, while Palace played with ten men from the 78th minute after captain Paddy McCarthy was dismissed for two fouls on the Scotland striker.

But the missed chances did not prove costly for Cardiff as Heaton, who is second choice behind another Scotland cap, David Marshall, who was on the bench, saved from Jermaine Easter and Sean Scannell, before Jonathan Parr put the decisive spot-kick wide to hand the Welsh side a Wembley berth against Manchester City or Liverpool. Cardiff took the lead in just the seventh minute as Gardner, who had given Palace their slender advantage, drew the Bluebirds level in the tie by putting through his own net.

Darcy Blake played Cowie in down the right and Gardner could only turn his cross past a stranded Julian Speroni.

Former Dundee keeper Speroni had to be on his mettle again in the 11th minute as he beat away Peter Whittingham’s fierce angled drive, with Anthony Gerrard narrowly failing to get to the loose ball. Miller could have doubled their lead after Parr’s woeful header gifted Gunnarsson possession. The midfielder played the Scotland striker in as Palace appealed in vain for offside, but his left-footed shot rolled agonisingly wide of the right-hand post. And there was more anguish for Miller when he hammered a volley against the post moments before the interval. Miller was again in the thick of the action on the resumption, picking his way past three defenders before working the ball to Whittingham, whose low shot beat Speroni but also the near post.

Palace were reduced to ten men with 12 minutes to go as McCarthy was handed a second booking following another tussle with Miller, leaving the centre-half decidedly unimpressed by Howard Webb’s decision.

Zaha redeemed himself by making a brilliant block in the final moments, getting back to slide in and deny Cowie and make sure the tie went to extra time. With the extra man Cardiff dominated the entirety of the 30-minute period and would not have had to endure the agonies of penalties had Kiss not whacked a volley against the bar from inside the box, and Gunnarsson not done likewise by contriving to find the woodwork with his point-blank header. Those misses looked like they might prove costly when Miller missed the first spot-kick, but Heaton saved low down from Easter and Scannell, before Parr failed to find the target to send the Welsh club to Wembley for the third time in five seasons and spark a minor pitch invasion by the delighted home support.

Cardiff: Heaton, Blake (McNaughton 80), Gerrard, Turner, Taylor, Cowie (Gestede 102), Whittingham, Gunnarsson, McPhail (Kiss 83), Conway, Miller. Subs not used: Marshall, Earnshaw, Mason, Ralls.

Crystal Palace: Speroni, Parr, McCarthy, Gardner, Clyne, Ambrose (McShane 79), Dikgacoi, Jedinak, Zaha, Murray (Easter 83), Martin (Scannell 75). Subs Not Used: Price, Wright, Garvan, Andrew.