Birmingham City are off to Wembley!

National World - LocalTV

BirminghamWorld reporter Charlie Haffenden reacts after Birmingham City's 2-1 win over Bradford City in the Vertu Trophy semi-final at St Andrew's.

Transcript

00:00Birmingham City have booked a trip to Wembley for the first time since 2011,

00:06that famous year that they beat Arsenal in the League Cup final,

00:10following tonight's 2-1 victory over Bradford City in the Virtue Trophy semi-final.

00:15What a night under the lights at St Andrew's in Nighthead Park.

00:19Over 28,000 fans packed out here for what was set to be an incredibly monumental occasion for the football club.

00:27Just the thought of going to Wembley, exciting enough for Blues,

00:30but now to have actually secured a place in that Virtue Trophy final,

00:34so, so exciting for this fan base and for the club on the whole.

00:37A lift that was really needed around the football club.

00:40Obviously, the likely title in League One is massive for the club

00:44and its reputation after last season's relegation from the Championship,

00:47but to have silverware alongside that, as in cup domestic silverware,

00:52would be really the cherry on the cake.

00:54Chris Davies, so, so proud of what his team has achieved here tonight

00:58and going through quite a lot of adversity in the match as well.

01:01A terrible refereeing call that I'll get onto in a moment.

01:04Jay Stansfield opened the scoring for Blues,

01:07the £13m record signing with an incredible finish with the last touch of the first half.

01:13He chested down from the Kieran Dow Cross and then volleyed into the far corner.

01:18A superb finish and one that was worth every single penny off his transfer fee.

01:23After the break, though, a gutting moment for Blues record signing.

01:28Downed in the box by a Bradford defender.

01:31A blatant penalty, you'd think, from first glance and definitely upon the replay,

01:35but the referee played on and Bradford went down the other end and scored an equaliser.

01:40Not only was Stansfield denied a penalty, but he also injured himself.

01:44It looked serious. He was sat on the ground for a good seven or eight minutes

01:48while the Birmingham staff attended to him.

01:50He had an oxygen mask on, he had to be stretched off the field and he went into an ambulance.

01:55A really worrying moment for him.

01:57We've since heard from Chris Davies that Stansfield has gone to hospital for checks on his leg.

02:01We don't think it's ligament damage, we think it could be the bone,

02:04because of the way that the Bradford defender landed on him.

02:07So, a very worrying one and, of course, we'll wait for, hopefully, some good news on that.

02:12Hopefully not as serious as what it seems.

02:14Going on to the rest of the game, though, and Lyndon Dykes stepping up for Blues,

02:18getting revenge for what Bradford did.

02:21Obviously, scoring their goal in controversial fashion, injuring Stansfield.

02:24Dykes, in the 88th minute, scoring a fine header from a smoky Iwata cross.

02:29St Andrews went absolutely bonkers when that goal went in and in the aftermath as well.

02:3511 minutes of injury time to try and soak in and get that victory over the line.

02:41Pays to Sarra. Sarra was ringing out all around the stadium and an incredible occasion for the football club.

02:47That final is two months away. Blues must turn their focus to the league.

02:51Try and forget, really, about the Virtue Trophy for a little while,

02:55but they'll always be hanging over them and a great thing to hang over them

02:58is that they'll be going to Wembley for the first time in 14 years.

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