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THIRD ROUND
Cardiff City's charge to the FA Cup Final began in the most inauspicious of circumstances. Playing Chasetown of the Southern League Division One Midlands - the lowest-ranked team ever to reach the FA Cup Third Round - they fell behind after just 17 minutes when Kevin McNaughton turned a corner into his own net. Peter Whittingham's equaliser on the stroke of half-time settled the Bluebirds' nerves, and Aaron Ramsey and Paul Perry both scored to make it 3-1.

Portsmouth were drawn away to Ipswich Town and had their work cut out against a team who hadn't lost at home since March 2007, but got a boost when midfielder Liam Trotter was harshly sent off after 24 minutes for a challenge on Pedro Mendes. After the break, David Nugent grabbed a rare goal to win it for Pompey, but they still needed David James to be at his best to keep the Tractor Boys at bay and send the Premier League side through.

FOURTH ROUND
Cardiff faced another lower league side in the Fourth Round, but Hereford were a few divisions above Chasetown and also caused a few problems for Dave Jones' side. Kevin McNaughton scored at the right end just before half-time to put Cardiff ahead and then earned a penalty for Steven Thompson to convert on 67 minutes, but Theo Robinson pulled one back with 13 minutes to go to set up a nervy finish.

Portsmouth were also up against lower league opposition again, taking on Plymouth Argyle and falling behind after just five minutes when Chris Clark put the Pilgrims ahead. David James had to be on form again to stop Clark making it 2-0 minutes later, but Pompey were 2-1 up by half-time through Lassana Diarra and Niko Kranjcar. The second half saw the visitors pile on the pressure, but James was equal to their best efforts.

FIFTH ROUND
Cardiff got off to a flyer in their Fifth Round tie against fellow Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Peter Whittingham put through by Aaron Ramsey after just two minutes to give the Bluebirds the lead. Their place in the the Quarter-Finals was secured for the first time since 1927 in the 11th minute when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink turned and smartly struck a shot into the top corner from a Paul Parry cross.

David James was again the hero for Portsmouth as they again travelled to a lower division side. This time it was Preston North End whose hearts they broke after a tense clash at Deepdale, with both sides having chances, but the biggest one falling to the home side when Sylvain Distin tripped Billy Jones inside the area on the hour mark. Simon Whaley stepped up, but fired his penalty straight at James, who saved and gathered up the rebound. Then, in injury time, Darren Carter lashed an attempted clearance into his own net to gift a win to Pompey.

QUARTER-FINALS
Having already played a massive role in helping Cardiff get this far, Peter Whittingham delivered the goods again for them in the Quarter-Finals. This time they had a sterner test, facing Premier League side Middlesbrough at the Riverside, but the former Aston Villa midfielder gave them the lead with a superb free-kick after just nine minutes to stun the home side. Roger Johnson made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute, by which time Cardiff had missed several other chances to extend their lead, while Boro managed just one shot on target in the whole match.

Like Cardiff, Portsmouth were the underdogs in their tie, because they were drawn at Old Trafford against Manchester United. They had to ride their luck, with Sylvain Distin fortunate to escape giving away a first half penalty for a barge on Cristiano Ronaldo, but held firm against constant United pressure and won a penalty of their own in the second half. Edwin van der Sar had gone off injured at half-time, and his replacement Tomasz Kuszczak brought down Milan Baros, earning himself a red card and Pompey a spot kick. Sulley Muntari took it against makeshift keeper Rio Ferdinand and scored to send Harry Redknapp's team to the Semi-Finals.

SEMI-FINALS
Both of the Semi-Finals were held at Wembley, and Cardiff City took on this year's master giant-killers Barnsley, who had beaten Liverpool and Chelsea to reach this stage. However, a tight game was decided in the ninth minute when Joe Ledley scored a stunning left-foot volley past Luke Steele. Both sides had chances after that, but the key moment came in the 67th minute when Chelsea's conqueror Kayode Odejayi missed a one-on-one chance against Peter Enckelman.

The only Premier League side left in the FA Cup by this stage, Portsmouth had to work hard to avoid becoming the latest casualties of a tournament of shock results. West Bromwich Albion showed why they have gone on to win promotion to the top flight for next season as they largely dominated proceedings, though chances for either side were at a premium. The winning goal came in the second half after Dean Kiely parried a Milan Baros shot and Nwankwo Kanu reacted first to score and put Pompey in the Final.