



The Blues emerged victorious from a penalty shoot-out when goalkeeper Nicky Weaver, who had already saved Paul Smith's effort, then blocked Guy Butters' spot-kick.

The young keeper then began a joyous sprint round half the ground as Joe Royle's men celebrated the end of a barren period for the other half of Manchester.





And with just a minute left of normal time, it seemed like this would be another miserable day for City fans, with their side trailing by two goals to a Gillingham side which had grown with confidence during the afternoon.





Carl Asaba looked to have sealed it for Gillingham

But Kevin Horlock reduced arrears to 2-1 with the 90 minutes were virtually up.

With five minutes of injury time announced, there seemed a very small chance that City could still force the game into extra time, and former Arsenal player Paul Dickov strike in the dying seconds of normal time sent the City fans, including rock stars Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis, into ecstasy.

It was heartbreaking for Gillingham, managed by Tony Pulis. They had appeared worthy winners at 2-0, but were forced to regroup and force their way through extra time.

The game had been largely been ordinary until the final minutes, with both sides clearly feeling the weight of the occasion.

It was Asaba who played the significant role in both goals, starting and finishing the move which gave The Gills the lead, rounding off a superb move with a shot into the top corner past Weaver.





Micheal Brown and Nicky Southall do battle

Those two strikes left City with no option but to attack, and the pressure caused the first cracks in the Gillingham defence, with Horlock driving a left-footed shot through a crowd of players.

And with time running out, Shaun Goater used his physical presence to play Dickov through, and the diminutive striker curling a rising shot past another former Gunner, Vince Bartram.

When it came to penalties, Gillingham missed their first two efforts, while Dickov also failed to hit the target.

With City 3-1 up, Smith needed to score for The Gills, but his shot failed to get past the diving figure of Weaver, and left his side to reflect on a match that had looked harder to lose with just a minute remaining.

Gillingham: Bartram, Southall, Ashby, Smith, Butters, Pennock, Patterson, Hessenthaler, Asaba, Galloway, Taylor. Subs: Hodge, Saunders, Carr.

Man City: Weaver, Crooks, Edghill, Wiekens, Morrison, Horlock, Brown, Whitley, Dickov, Goater, Cooke. Subs: Taylor, Vaughan, Bishop.

Referee: M Halsey (Welwyn Garden City)