And Obafemi did it for Birmingham City's 2-1 win over Arsenal

Obafemi Martins pounced on a calamitous Arsenal defensive mix-up two minutes from time as Birmingham City claimed their first major silverware since 1963 by winning the Carling Cup at Wembley.

Martins, on loan from Rubin Kazan, took advantage of a fatal communication breakdown between Gunners goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and defender Laurent Koscielny to strike the late blow that clinched victory for Blues boss Alex McLeish and his men, sending their supporters into ecstasy.

The striker, on as substitute for Keith Fahey, had the simplest of chances after Koscielny attempted to clear when Szczesny came to collect Nikola Zigic's tame header to extend the north Londoners' six-year wait for a trophy.

Zigic gave Birmingham a first-half lead but Robin van Persie's spectacular volley restored parity before the interval in an enthralling Wembley final.

In contrast to the crestfallen figure of Szczesny, Birmingham were indebted to their keeper Ben Foster - penalty shoot-out hero of Manchester United's win in this competition in 2009 - for a magnificent display that rightly earned him the man-of-the match award.

Foster was outstanding throughout, denying Samir Nasri on three occasions and also saving splendidly from Andrey Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner.

Birmingham, who also hit the woodwork through Fahey, were a model of determination and resilience as well as positive intent and their success is a tribute to the outstanding work of manager McLeish.

Defender Roger Johnson was another commanding figure and all the bravery displayed by him and his team-mates in the face of a late Arsenal onslaught was rewarded in sensational circumstances in the dying moments.

Arsenal, robbed of captain Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott through injury, never hit the heights and that moment of defensive madness means Wenger has still not laid his hands on a trophy since winning the FA Cup against Manchester United in 2005.


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