With Wanderers travelling to Aston Villa on Saturday, Gordon Sharrock looks back on a previous visit when a date at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium was at stake

THERE was triumph in defeat as Wanderers survived a nail-biting finale in a pressure-cooker atmosphere to book their place in the Carling Cup Final.

Jay Jay Okocha’s virtuoso performance in the first leg at the Reebok gave them the luxury of a three-goal lead to take to Villa Park – but it was anything but plain sailing for Sam Allardyce’s Whites.

The inspirational Okocha, who was away on international duty with Nigeria, cheered his team-mates with a video message that was played before the game. But their smiles turned to frowns after just 10 minutes when Thomas Hitzlsperger curled in a gem of free-kick and Villa sensed they could rescue the tie.

The pendulum appeared to swing Wanderers’ way again six minutes before half-time when Gavin McCann was sent off for striking Emerson Thome in a scuffle after the Villa man’s dangerous lunge on Jussi Jaaskelainen. But, urged on by a partisan crowd, David O’Leary’s side made light of the handicap and, when Jlloyd Samuel pulled a second goal back two minutes from time, the Holte End roof almost lifted off.

The first leg goals, including Okocha’s sensational free-kick that ranks as one of the most memorable strikes ever seen at the Reebok, proved decisive but the second game had heroes of a different kind – notably Ivan Campo, Bruno N’Gotty and Per Frandsen – who did much to help Wanderers hold their nerve in the most testing of times.

Allardyce, who had painful memories of losing three semi-finals – including an FA Cup heartbreaker against Aston Villa at Wembley – in his first season at the Reebok, was relieved at the end.

“We were getting pretty desperate on the bench but there was nothing we could do,” he said.

Aston Villa: Sorensen; Delaney, Mellberg, Dublin, Samuel; Hendrie (Whittingham 47), McCann, Hitzlsperger, Barry; Vassell, Crouch.

Wanderers: Jaaskelainen; Hunt, Thome, N’Gotty, Charlton (Barness 68); Stelios, Frandsen (Moreno 88), Campo, Ba, Djorkaeff (Pedersen 79); Davies.

If you have special memories of a past Wanderers game against any of this season’s future opponents, write to: Memory Match, Sports Desk, The Bolton News, Newspaper House, Churchgate, Bolton BL1 1DE, or email to gsharrock@thebolton news.co.ukxx.