The second leg of the second semi-final needed extra time to decide who would be facing Arsenal in the first final of the season. West Ham took a 2-1 aggregate advantage to St.Andrews after Foster's blunder. Boosted by it, West Ham came out extended their aggregate lead when Carlton Cole broke the deadlock just after the half hour mark. Birmingham pulled one back fourteen minutes into the second half with a goal from Lee Bowyer to equalise on the night. Roger Johnson forced extra time with a goal eleven minutes from time to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate (the only scoreline that would bring penalties). But the tie was won just four minutes into extra time when Craig Gardner became a Blues hero, making 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. Arsenal are clear favourites for their piece of silverware since 2005 but Birmingham could well spoil the party.
In the Premiership, Liverpool hosted Fulham in their re-arranged winter match. Only one goal settled the tie but it was a rather unlucky one. It came seven minutes into the second half when a shot bounced off the post to hit Pantsil and rebound into the net to give Liverpool their first home win under Dalglish. The win lifts them up to seventh in the table and are firmly pushing for a Europa League spot.
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