By SHAUN CUSTIS
CAN this Capital One Cup competition get any more extraordinary?
On Tuesday night League Two minnows Bradford completed an astonishing journey to the final by giving Aston Villa a metaphorical boot in the ribs.
Last night Chelsea had £32million Eden Hazard sent off for kicking a ballboy in the ribs as they were knocked out by Swansea.
It is hard to recall a more bizarre dismissal. With 12 minutes left, the Belgian midfielder was trying and failing to wrestle the ball away from teenager Charlie Morgan as he lay on the ground refusing to let go.
Hazard’s solution to the conundrum was extreme to say the least as he applied a right boot to the lad’s chest and ref Chris Foy had no option but to send him off.
It was a stupid thing to do and another sorry chapter in Chelsea’s recent chequered history.
But the ballboy was not totally blameless. He was clearly time-wasting in Swansea’s favour.
Swans boss Michael Laudrup said: “To have beaten the European champions over two games to get to a final for the first time is absolutely incredible.
“They lost their belief after the red card. You could see when he was sent off they were finished.
“What we have done is a small fairytale but what Bradford have done is absolutely amazing.”
And it was not as if Swansea needed Hazard’s help. They had the visitors in their pockets for most of the night and never looked like surrendering the two-goal advantage they earned at Stamford Bridge.
The Swans are no footballing ugly ducklings. This is a team that deserves to grace Wembley.
And they will be in the unaccustomed position of being overwhelming favourites to lift a first major trophy in their 100-year history.
Should they do so, they will also be rewarded with European competition next season.
Last time Bradford played Swansea six years ago 7,347 fans saw a League One clash at Valley Parade that ended 2-2. Next month, there will be 80,000 to watch them at the home of football.
As for Chelsea, this was another sizeable step backwards for the Rafa Benitez regime.
Benitez was beaten in the Club World Cup soon after arriving and has failed in this one too.
The interim boss claims owner Roman Abramovich is happy with him. He might like to have a rethink after this.
Laudrup says Chelsea need trophies more than his men because of all the millions spent by Abramovich.
By contrast getting to this final is a bonus for the Welsh, not an expectation. There was a feeling that Chelsea could turn it round and Laudrup still argued the opposition were favourites before kick-off despite their two-goal lead.
But his central defensive pairing of skipper Ashley Williams and Chico were immense. They would not let Chelsea pass.
And to have kept clean sheets in both legs of the semi against talent like Oscar, Juan Mata, Hazard and Demba Ba is no mean achievement.
Senegal striker Ba wanted a penalty on seven minutes when he caught the trailing leg of Ben Davies. But despite Ba’s protests, referee Foy was having none of it. Had he got the verdict the night might have been very different.
Having survived that scare Swansea rattled the visitors as they carved out two fine chances.
First Wayne Routledge had his stinging volley well blocked by Cesar Azpilicueta, then turned provider to put in Michu who had a left-foot shot saved by the diving Petr Cech.
The Swans were not flapping and were showing no signs of nerves.
Next Gary Cahill threw himself in front of a Swansea shot, this time from Jonathan De Guzman.
Then Cahill threatened at the other end with a looping header which was headed away by Angel Rangel on the post. No one was shirking their responsibilities in this Swans defence.
Williams epitomised the commitment by getting back to nick the ball off Oscar in the six-yard box as the Brazilian looked set to score.
Ramires’ frustration showed with a nasty challenge on Ki Sung-Yueng that went unpunished, as he raked his boot down the South Korean’s ankle.
As half-time approached, Ba lashed over the top and Swansea had got half the job done, thanks in no little part to rock-solid Williams and Chico.
It was hard to see how Chelsea were going to crack them open, let alone get the two goals they needed to force the tie into extra-time.
If Benitez was thinking of introducing Fernando Torres he need only to have taken a glance behind on the bench to see it was not worth the bother.
Torres seemed hardly desperate to play, with his jacket zipped over a face masking a look of indifference.
In any case Ba was still having a go and a right-footer from 20 yards was not far wide. Routledge, who had run himself silly, was replaced by Nathan Dyer as Laudrup carefully plotted his way through the 90 minutes.
Benitez countered by introducing David Luiz. And while he came on at the back for Branislav Ivanovic and not in midfield, you still felt he would have more impact than Torres.
After Hazard was dismissed for his lunacy, Torres went on for the last nine minutes. Few expected any miracles from the £50million man who cost double the Swansea team.
Benitez said: “I was convinced we would score but we didn’t create the clear chances we needed. It was the same story as in the first leg.”
These days the sight of Torres is a boost for the opposition, not a worry.
Foy added seven minutes of injury time because of the ballboy incident.
He could have added 70 minutes and Chelsea would not have scored.
