Tranmere Rovers2-0Nottingham Forest

Tranmere Rovers reached the first major cup semi-final in the club's 110-year history with a magnificent 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Prenton Park.

Pat Nevin's unlikely first-half header gave Rovers the advantage before Tony Thomas sealed an unforgettable Coca-Cola Cup quarter-final replay with a diving header in the final moments. Aston Villa now awaited John King's side in the last four.

After earning a 1-1 draw at the City Ground, Rovers returned to the Wirral knowing they were potentially 90 minutes away from breaking new ground. A crowd of 12,578 gathered at Prenton Park for a match regarded as one of the most important the club had ever played.

The conditions made attractive football difficult. A swirling wind hung over a heavy, increasingly cut-up pitch, but Tranmere were determined to match Forest's composed passing game rather than surrender possession or retreat into their own half.

Forest packed five players into midfield and left the returning Stan Collymore to operate alone in attack. The visitors still created opportunities, with Collymore unable to convert a cross from Des Lyttle and Ian Woan sending a header against the post.

Rovers carried a threat of their own. Mark Crossley had to make saves underneath his crossbar from Thomas and John Morrissey as both sides found chances during an open first half.

The breakthrough arrived after 26 minutes - and from one of the least likely sources imaginable.

The ball bounced awkwardly around the Forest penalty area before kicking up off the uneven surface. Nevin, hardly renowned for his aerial prowess, reacted first and directed a header towards goal. With the wind lending a helping hand, the ball travelled over Crossley and into the net.

It might not have been the prettiest goal scored at Prenton Park, but few could have carried greater importance. The little winger had given Rovers a precious lead and brought the prospect of a first major semi-final tantalisingly close.

Forest had shown in the original tie that they could rescue a match late on, so there could be no relaxing during the second half. This time, however, Tranmere stood firm. King's players competed for every ball, protected their advantage and refused to allow the visitors to repeat their City Ground escape.

As the contest entered its final moments, Forest were forced to commit players forward. That created the space for Rovers to produce one final, decisive attack.

Morrissey swept an excellent cross-field pass towards John Aldridge. The striker looked up and delivered the ball towards the far post, where Thomas arrived to power a diving header beyond Crossley.

That was that. At 2-0, Forest were beaten and Tranmere were heading into the semi-finals.

It was a fitting conclusion to a performance built on courage, quality and belief. Nevin supplied the breakthrough, Thomas applied the final flourish and the entire side demonstrated that Rovers belonged on this stage.

With Liverpool and Everton already out of the FA Cup, Tranmere were left carrying Merseyside's hopes of major silverware. More importantly for those on the Wirral, the victory was further proof of how far King's side had travelled.

The manager was understandably confident afterwards, declaring that Rovers were capable of beating Aston Villa over two legs. After overcoming Forest on such a historic afternoon, nobody at Prenton Park would have been inclined to disagree.