toptop
The
bizarre sending off of Eden Hazard overshadowed Swansea City famously booking a
place in the Capital One Cup final after a 0-0 draw with Chelsea saw the Swans
progress 2-0 on aggregate.
Hazard was dismissed in the closing minutes for a moment of madness in a 0-0
semi-final second-leg draw at the Liberty Stadium after being involved in a
tussle for the ball with a ballboy.
With the ballboy delaying the game by smothering the ball when out of play, the
Belgian stupidly kicked out at a combination of the ball and the boy's ribs.
It was the lowest point on a night to forget for Chelsea, as Swansea reached
their first major cup final after a 2-0 first-leg win and they will now face
League Two Bradford City at Wembley.
Swansea first had to survive a penalty scare after Demba Ba, starting ahead of
Fernando Torres, went down under a challenge from Ben Davies.
Referee Chris Foy opted not to point to the spot although there was contact as
Ba looked to step inside the full-back.
Michu, fresh from signing a new four-year contract, then tested Chelsea but
found Petr Cech equal to his angled drive.
Angel Rangel cleared Gary Cahill's looping header off the line as the Chelsea
pressure increased, while Ba wasted another opportunity late in the half as he
scooped a shot over the bar.
The former Newcastle striker was again off-target with a curling strike from the
edge of the area five minutes into the second half, but Michael Laudrup was by
now imploring his defenders to get out of their own 18-yard box.
Frank Lampard and Juan Mata linked beautifully on the right, moments after
taking part in an awful free-kick routine, but yet again there was a white shirt
in the way to block the Spaniard's attempted ball across the six-yard box.
Gerhard Tremmel made a sharp stop to deny a fizzing effort from Hazard as the
game entered the final 20 minutes, and Chelsea's hopes were effectively ended
when Hazard was then dismissed in unsavoury fashion.
Pablo Hernandez and Nathan Dyer missed chances to secure victory on the night as
Cech saved on both occasions, with the stadium still stunned by Hazard's
astonishing dismissal.
And Swansea comfortably saw out six minutes of stoppage time to reach Wembley.
Teams
Swansea City Tremmel, Rangel, Chico, Williams, Davies,
Britton, de Guzman, Ki, Routledge (Dyer 66), Hernandez, Michu
Subs Not Used Vorm, Monk, Tiendalli, Lamah, Shechter, Graham
Booked
Goals
Chelsea Cech, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic (Luiz 68), Cahill, Cole (Bertrand
86), Ramires, Lampard, Hazard, Mata, Oscar (Torres 83), Ba
Subs Not Used Turnbull, Ferreira, Terry, Marin
Booked
Sent Off Hazard
Goals
Attendance 19,506
Referee C. Foy