EMERSON Thome described how a slap in the face from an old pal gave Wanderers a vital edge in the Villa Park thriller.

The big Brazilian was at the centre of the 39th-minute flashpoint when his former Sunderland team-mate Gavin McCann was sent off.

Sam Allardyce described McCann's red card as the turning point in the second leg of Tuesday night's semi-final.

Thome, who clashed with McCann after the midfielder injured Wanderers' keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen with a late challenge, said: "Gavin went over the top with a very harsh challenge. I went over to speak to him and in the end he slapped my face. I forgive him -- it's his hurt, not mine."

Thome said reaching his first cup final after playing six years in England was "the first part of the dream". The second part, he said, was to win the final and get to 40 points in the Premiership -- the survival target. "We lost the game but, in the end we got what we went for," he said.

Stelios, who won seven championships in Greece with Olympiakos before joining Wanderers last summer, was thrilled to reach a major final in his first season.

"I'm very proud to be part of this squad," he said. "It's an historic day for us; it's a big result we have achieved."

Nicky Hunt, the only local player in the squad, was "overwhelmed" after securing his place in a major final in his first season as a first-team player.

But he admitted losing his cool near the end of the first-half, when he picked up a booking which will keep him out of the Premiership game at Leicester on February 11.

"There was a lot of winding up going on, which is all part and parcel," he said. "I lost my rag a little bit. But I managed to hold my nerve."