Swansea fans
can start
dreaming of
silverware
after Michael
Laudrup's
side drew 0-0
with Chelsea
in the Capital
One Cup
semi-final at
Liberty
Stadium to
win 2-0 on
aggregate and book a final
with Bradford at Wembley on
24 February.
The night was a huge blow to
Rafa Benitez who also saw Eden
Hazard sent off for appearing to
kick a ball boy, leaving the FA
Cup and Europa League as the
Stamford Bridge club's only
realistic chances of winning a
trophy.
The Swans meanwhile can look
forward to their first ever
appearance in a major cup final,
and could become the first
Welsh winners of the League
Cup in a terrific first season in
charge for Laudrup.
Controversy ensued after just
five minutes in a lively opening -
Demba Ba, preferred to
Fernando Torres, went down in
the area as Ben Davies hung out
a leg, but the striker's theatrical
reaction failed to persuade
referee Chris Foy.
Swansea continued the
entertaining start with Michu
stinging Petr Cech's hands with
a fine 16-yard drive after a
clever through-ball by Wayne
Routledge, with the hosts
showing no fear in defending
their two-goal cushion.
Gerhard Tremmel scooped up
Eden Hazard's low effort on 20
minutes with Ba lurking for the
rebound and did well to hold
Ramires' strong drive three
minutes later as Chelsea began
to threaten the hosts.
Juan Mata couldn't quite control
a Ba pass well enough to feed
Oscar who would have had a
simple finish from 12 yards, but
the flair of the visitors' forwards
began to shine through despite
the confident passing of
Laudrup's side.
Swansea failed to clear the ball
on the half hour after a mishit
Mata volley eventually found its
way to Oscar, but the young
Brazilian couldn't find enough
space to shoot from eight yards
and a good chance went
begging.
Ba blasted a half-volley over the
bar after a defensive mix-up in
injury time, leaving his side with
just 45 minutes to find two vital
goals.
While many would have
assumed Chelsea to push on in
the second half in search of
goals, the visiting fans were left
frustrated with the likes of Mata
and Ramires seeing shots
closed down by a determined
display from the hosts.
Chelsea upped the tempo as
Mata unleashed a fine 20-yard
drive with 18 minutes to go
that Tremmel expertly held on
to, while Torres was introduced
with 13 minutes to try and
rescue the game.
However, all hopes of a
comeback faded after Hazard
received his marching orders
with 10 minutes to go after
bizarrely kicking a ball from
underneath a ball boy, who
appeared to be lying on the ball
to waste time.
Swansea ended up looking the
likelier side to score late on as Ki
and Nathan Dyer wasted
opportunities, but the Swans
will not care about failing to
score as they have a dream date
at Wembley to look forward to.
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