The winning goal came from an unlikely source as Birmingham City claimed a place in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup with a hard-fought victory over their Second City rivals Aston Villa.
Nikola Zigic, City's 6ft 7in striker, struggled to make any impact on the game until he grabbed the decisive goal in the 84th minute and sealed a meeting with West Ham in the last four.
However, it was a tie that ended with shameful scenes as the two sets of fans confronted each other. Flares were thrown towards Villa fans, who ripped out chairs and hurled them onto the pitch before 500 policemen on duty calmed the situation.
It was a sad postscript to a game that was always eventful, particularly in a frantic and fiercely contested first half as both teams showed their burning desire to progress all the way to Wembley.
Villa enjoyed much of the possession before the break, but trailed from the 12th minute when Sebastian Larsson scored from the spot after Richard Dunne fouled Lee Bowyer.
And Birmingham will always believe they should have been 2-0 ahead in the 28th minute when Nikola Zigic's shot crept over the line before it was claimed by keeper Brad Friedel.
The goal was controversially disallowed because Scott Dann was standing in an offside position - and Villa immediately cashed in on a debatable decision by breaking away to level just two minutes later.
There was also a hint of offside in the build-up before Gabriel Agbonlahor took a pass from Jon Hogg in his stride and stroked the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
City should have been leading at the break, though, after Zigic put Cameron Jerome clear just seconds after the Villa goal. The striker kept his nerve and clipped the ball over Friedel, only to see it drift agonisingly wide of the far post.
The pace didn't slacken after the break, although clear cut chances were at a premium. With Barry Bannan starting to pull the strings in midfield, Villa pinned City back at times and substitute Stephen Ireland stretched Foster with a snap shot.
But Birmingham broke quickly in the 84th minute and grabbed the winner when Zigic mishit Jerome's cross, but saw it deflect off defender Luke Young and loop over Friedel.
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