A late goal from Serbian striker Nikola Zigic earned City their first win over Villa for five and a half years after Gabriel Agbonlahor had cancelled out Sebastian Larsson's penalty. It has earned Blues a two-legged tie with West Ham - and their former owners David Sullivan and David Gold. Ferguson, who gave another exemplary display in midfield, said: "I'm just delighted we've won, we're in a semi-final now, and you never know what might happen now. "We've shown that mentality all season where the guys never lie down and thankfully we got the victory. "Villa had a few chances but we always felt confident we could get one. "The manager is building a new team, brought a few new players in in summer, and they're settling in really well. "I can see we're starting to close the gap on Aston Villa, certainly." Blues keeper Ben Foster said: "We've pretty much been concentrating on the league but it's been a fantastic run we've had in the cup. "Get through the semi-final and you're at Wembley. For a team like Birmingham, that would be a fantastic achievement. "In cup football, anyone can cause big upsets and hopefully we can keep doing it." Villa dominated for long periods, particularly in the second 45 minutes, but were unable to pierce the Birmingham rearguard. Assistant manager Gary McAllister said: "We feel hard done by. In the second half, we were pressing to get the winner. "It was disappointing to lose to a poor goal from our point of view. "But now it is our job to pick everyone up when we come back in for training and be ready ready to go again, starting with Liverpool on Monday." Larsson opened the scoring from the spot after Villa skipper Richard Dunne had upended Lee Bowyer. Agbonlahor seized onto a pass from Jonathan Hogg to score in the derby at St Andrew's for the third successive match. But, with six minutes remaining, Zigic's shot struck took a deflection off Luke Young and looped up and over Brad Friedel for the decider.
