Ipswich finally made it through to the First Division play-off final at the fourth time of asking after an incredible victory over nine-man Bolton at Portman Road.

A Jim Magilton hat trick - his third coming in the 90th minute to send the tie into extra time - a Jamie Clapham penalty and another from Martin Reuser helped the Blues on their way to Wembley after a Dean Holdsworth double and a brilliant Allan Johnston volley had put the visitors on course for victory.

Bolton were not helped by the injury-time dismissal of captain Mike Whitlow and the extra-time sending off of Robbie Elliott, both for second bookable offences.

Substitute Reuser added a fifth to seal Ipswich's victory and end the club's agony of three successive play-off semi-final defeats.

Without doubt, the game's turning point came in injury time at the end of normal time.

Town were trailing 3-2 and goalkeeper Richard Wright had just saved from Claus Jensen to keep his side in the game, when Tony Mowbray's long ball forward was headed down by Mark Venus into the path of Magilton.

The Northern Ireland international smashed a low volley into the bottom corner from just inside the penalty area to save his side's season.

The game was turned on its head second later when Whitlow was dismissed after bringing down Marcus Stewart and the pendulum had swung firmly in Ipswich's direction.

When Clapham converted Ipswich's third penalty of the night after Johnson had been inexplicably wrestled to the ground by Bolton's South African defender Mark Fish, the tie was all but over.

Bolton had gone ahead in the sixth minute when Holdsworth took advantage of Wright's fumble to tap the ball into an empty net from two yards out but the home side were level when referee Barry Knight awarded a spot-kick when Magilton was brought down by Holdsworth.

The former Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder slotted the ball to Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen's left to level the score.

But Holdsworth put his side in front again six minutes before half-time when Gary Croft brought down Elliott on the edge of the penalty area. Holdsworth stepped up and curled the resulting free-kick around the Ipswich wall and into the bottom corner of the net.

Magilton then had a golden opportunity to put his side level before the break but saw his second spot-kick brilliantly saved by Jaaskelainen after Paul Ritchie was adjudged to have bundled over Marcus Stewart in the Bolton penalty area.

But it didn't take Magilton long to make up for his error as four minutes after the restart he put his side back on level terms. Receiving the ball on the edge of the penalty box from Mark Venus, Magilton turned and burst past two defenders before firing an angled shot high into the roof of the net.

Incredibly, Bolton were back in front within a minute when Johnston fired in a wonderful volley from 25 yards out, leaving Wright with no chance.

Ipswich seemed to have lost their way as time was running out but Wright's crucial block when Jensen was clean through late on seemed to inspire his team-mates and ignited a late drama.

After Elliott's extra-time dismissal, nine-man Bolton rarely threatened the Ipswich goal and Reuser sealed victory and a place at Wembley when he blasted home his side's fifth goal from substitute Richard Naylor's through ball.

Ipswich: R. Wright, Croft, Brown (Reuser 65), Mowbray, Venus, Clapham, Holland, Magilton, Scowcroft (Naylor 79), Johnson, Stewart.

Subs Not Used: Branagan, Thetis, Wilnis.

Goals: Magilton 18 pen, 49, 90, Clapham 94 pen, Reuser 109.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Bergsson, Fish, Ritchie, Whitlow, Johansen (Phillips 90), Jensen, Elliott, Warhurst (Passi 72), Johnston, Holdsworth (Hansen 101).

Subs Not Used: Banks, Farrelly.

Sent Off: Whitlow (90), Elliott (97).

Booked: Warhurst, Ritchie, Holdsworth, Johnston, Elliott, Johansen, Fish, Phillips, Passi.

Goals: Holdsworth 6, 39, Johnston 50.

Att: 21,543

Ref: B Knight (Orpington).