Pictures and analysis of Aston Villa 2 Bradford 1

Aston Villa's moment of great opportunity became just one more calamity in a collapsing season for the troubled club.

Try as they might, they could not stand in the way of the juggernaut of a fairytale that is Bradford City's advance to the Capital One Cup final, the first fourth-tier team to claim a place at such a Wembley showpiece.

That is to Bradford's enormous credit and for their hordes of delirious supporters to celebrate while neutral observers enjoy football's never-ending capacity to confound.

But, behind them, they leave a deeply-disturbed Villa, a club facing its worst crisis since the days of Billy McNeill and an ignoble, poisonous relegation a generation ago.

Manager Paul Lambert yet again saw what happens when you send out boys to do a man's job and it has cost the Villa manager such serious goodwill there will now be major questions about his survival prospects.

And survival is all Villa have to look forward to – if there is any relish in such an outlook.

This famous old club has suffered the most damaging blow to its prestige since its one and only spell in the Third Division more than 40 years ago.

A Premier League team with two chances to handle opposition from three levels below in a major cup semi-final but which fails so comprehensively to do so is guilty of a terrible dereliction of duty.

Take no notice of Villa's ultimate 2-1 victory in this second leg. The last minute 'winner' by Andreas Weimann, which took his team within one goal of forcing extra-time and with four added minutes in which to find it, provided a phoney grandstand.

There were no heroics in claret and blue last night just as there were no further alarms for Bradford's picture of composure and excellence, goalkeeper Matt Duke.

Whether Villa can recover sufficient morale and confidence to wage a successful battle to beat a relegation which continues to claw at them is increasingly uncertain.

They first have to travel to Millwall on Friday night for an FA Cup tie but the only redemption this team can really find for itself is in protecting top-flight status.

But no-one who witnessed their collapse to the pressures of this tie – pressures which seemed to confuse Lambert too – during the second half will carry any confidence there are not further disasters ahead.

All was certainly nicely on course at the interval. One-nil up thanks to another slick goal from Christian Benteke in the 24th minute, Villa had so monopolised the contest that it was difficult to imagine how Bradford could survive without losing the rest of their 3-1 first leg lead.

The Belgium international should have done better with one of three other aerial opportunites provided by Charles N'Zogbia's teasing crosses, the winger also demanding Duke's best save of the night with a searing drive from beyond the area.

Another Duke fingertip deflection defied a clever chip from Stephen Ireland while Benteke closed the half nearly bundling over a second goal from an Ireland cross.

Bradford, defending so deep it was nearly subterranean, could find no respite and, with Barry Bannan controlling patient distribution from left to right, all was well set.

But we forgot about this Villa team's chronic fallibility from set-pieces and when Bradford got forward to force their first of the game in the 55th minute, the tie was turned on its head.

Gary Jones' first corner was cleared by Benteke nervously for a second flag-kick – and this one arced over the forward and found the uncomplicated James Hanson evading Ron Vlaar to head an equaliser.

Villa's composure and concentration instantly fractured. As did Lambert's.

Desperate substitutions, designed to throw as many forwards on to the pitch as possible at the expense of first Bannan and then Joe Bennett, succeeded only in surrendering control of possession and the game.

Too many cooks spoiled the broth Villa had been brewing by half-time. Bradford instead found it easier to break from defence and twice came close to scoring a second.

Hanson missed with a similar heading opportunity while substitute Garry Thompson smacked a fine effort on to the bar as Villa Park, packed to the rafters and disbelieving of their team's decline, grew restless.

Darren Bent and Weimann were the extra forwards injected into the contest and, when the former headed on a long clearance in the 89th minute, the Austrian slipped a tiring Bradford defence to put Villa in front.

But that merely offered Villa Park a chance to once again wonder at the naivete of Lambert's team.

Fabian Delph, having started the game with a reckless challenge on Zavon Hines, finished the night scything through Thompson as the Bradford man headed for the corner to eat up time.

The visitors gratefully wound down the clock from the free-kick and moments later were duly celebrating a famous night, perhaps the most famous night, in their club's history.

As for Villa? The very mention of Bradford will haunt them for years to come, certainly long after the players who allowed it to happen on their watch have left.

It threatens to be a miserable legacy. Worryingly, even worse may yet follow.

By Martin Swain