Striker Dion Dublin re-emerged from the injury nightmare, which at one stage threatened to ensure he would never play again, to secure a penalty shoot-out victory that took Aston Villa to their first FA Cup final in 43 years.

And Villa were also indebted to keeper David James as he made two crucial spotkick saves from on-loan Sunderland winger Allan Johnston and Danish midfielder Michael Johansen after the match had ended goalless after 120 minutes.

But Villa had to ride their luck to reach penalties given that they had full-back Mark Delaney sent off with 10 minutes left and Bolton striker Dean Holdsworth produced one of the worst misses ever seen in Wembley history.

However, with Steve Stone, Lee Hendrie and Gareth Barry all scoring for the Midlands side from the spot, while only Holdsworth could hit the net for Bolton as James made two acrobatic saves from Johnston and Johansen, the stage was fittingly set for Dublin.

The centre-forward broke a bone in his neck against Sheffield Wednesday on December 18 and after first overcoming early fears that he would be wheelchair-bound, embarked on a determined recovery programme with Wembley as the goal which kept him going.

It was testament to the England international's fortitude and determination, however, that it was the FA Cup semi-final and not the final itself - his original aim - that he should appear in.

Having made a brief substitute's appearance against Derby last Saturday after three months out, he came off the bench at Wembley with 20 minutes of normal time left to hit the post with a header and then score the penalty winner to complete a fairytale recovery.

And so First Division Bolton were heart-broken, their own dreams shattered of appearing in the last Wembley FA Cup final after winning the first final to be held in the stadium back in 1923.

Watched by Nat Lofthouse and with defender Mark Fish simply outstanding at the back, they should realistically have won the game when Holdsworth first hit the post and then produced a miss to rival Ronny Rosenthal's for Liverpool against Villa several years ago.

But it was not to be as Villa set up a final against either Chelsea or Newcastle just four months after boss John Gregory was himself supposedly on the verge of the sack as pressure mounted on chairman 'Deadly' Doug Ellis to act to arrest the club's slump.

It was ironically another shoot-out which re-ignited Villa's season as their defeat on penalties to West Ham in the Worthington Cup - with Gareth Southgate becoming the fall guy yet again - was overturned because the Hammers fielded an ineligible player.

This time Villa prevailed though and reached an FA Cup final for the first time since 1957 even though fellow Worthington Cup semi-finalists Bolton not only settled quicker but also battled tenaciously in midfield.

Holdsworth flashed a header just past the far post and strike partner Eidur Gudjohnsen, who had scored in each previous round, turned swiftly past Southgate only to be denied when Alan Wright flung himself to deflect the ball wide.

Villa's plans were further disrupted by the loss of Ian Taylor on a stretcher only five minutes later, with Stone coming on to replace him.

With Fish resolute in defence and Robbie Elliott tackling ceaselessly in midfield, Bolton were displaying a composure which belied their relative inexperience as the game largely passed Paul Merson by.

However, with Barry beginning to show similarly commanding form, George Boateng running ceaselessly and Benito Carbone finally making an impact other than play-acting, Villa's influence steadily began to increase.

After Joachim played a neat one-two with Carbone, he was clean through only to sky his shot way over the bar and boss Gregory began the demolition work on Wembley a few months early by kicking his seat and throwing down his programme in disgust.

Carbone's vision again put the striker clear a couple of minutes later but his lack of finishing expertise was exposed a second time as keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen took the pace off his shot before Gudni Bergsson swooped to clear.

Southgate headed the ensuing corner narrowly over the bar but again Bolton came at Villa at the start of the second-half, with Holdsworth once more going close.

Although the game was opening up, it was still crying out for a long-overdue touch of invention or imagination to break the stalemate as Villa could not turn their increasing possessional advantage into chances.

And so Gregory finally turned to Dublin, although it was Carbone, and not Joachim, whom he replaced.

It was a barely credible decision, given Joachim's lack of impact, and not only the Villa fans but also Carbone evidently agreed as the temperamental Italian, who is still at odds over the terms of a new contract, stormed off and kicked over a bucket of water.

The second-half limply petered out so the match inexorably went to extra-time and apart from a lobbed effort just wide by Merson, the disrupted pattern of play wore on until the final 10 minutes when suddenly the game burst into life.

First the increasingly impressive Johansen fed Johnston, who cut inside and was brought down by Delaney from behind.

The full-back had been booked just four minutes beforehand and therefore had to go for his second caution, with Holdsworth striking the ensuing free-kick against the outside of the post.

But that was nothing compared to the striker's horrendous miss with just nine minutes left as James came hurtling out of his area, Gudjohnsen intelligently cut the ball back and Holdsworth blazed his shot way over from just 10 yards out with the goal at his mercy.

Villa rallied immediately, with Bolton keeper Jaaskelainen just managing to tip Dublin's header onto the post, and held on with 10 men to reach the penalty shoot-out.

And while James and Dublin kept their nerve, Southgate thankfully remained rooted in the centre-circle.

Then again, if you have lost six previous semi-finals, Wembley is hardly the place to break a promise never to take another penalty again.

Teams

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Bergsson (O'Kane 92), Fish, Ritchie, Whitlow, Johansen, Jensen (Warhurst 63), Elliott, Johnston, Gudjohnsen, Holdsworth.

Subs Not Used: Banks, Passi, Hansen.

Booked: Whitlow, Holdsworth, Warhurst.

Aston Villa: James, Ehiogu, Southgate, Barry, Delaney, Taylor (Stone 15), Boateng (Hendrie 120), Wright, Merson, Joachim, Carbone (Dublin 71).

Subs Not Used: Samuel, Enckelman.

Sent Off: Delaney (110).

Booked: Ehiogu, Delaney.

Aston Villa win 4-1 on penalties

Att: 62,828

Ref: D Elleray (Harrow-on-the-Hill).