DEAN Holdsworth will never erase the memory of the most painful miss of his career.

But seeing Sam Allardyce secure a place in the Carling Cup Final will go a long way towards making up for what he still regards as one of the game's great injustices.

"I've still got the picture in my mind's eye," says the former Reebok striker, looking back on the sitter he missed in the FA Cup semi-final of April 2000, when Wanderers lost to Aston Villa at Wembley in a penalty shoot-out.

"We really do owe Villa one. I still say 'we' because I have such a strong affinity for the club and for Sam. I'd love to see him leading the team out in the final because of what he's done for the club, and it would be fantastic for the fans.

"It was a huge shame we didn't get to the final that year but it wasn't for the want of trying.

"They were in the Premiership and we were in the First Division, but we were the better team on the day.

"I'm a firm believer in fate, though, and it would be nice to think things could be corrected tonight."

Holdsworth, who is now fighting a First Division relegation battle with Wimbledon, hit the post with a free kick, then missed a sitter as Wanderers went desperately close to reaching their first FA Cup Final for 42 years - one of three semi-final disappointments Allardyce had to endure in his first season in charge.

"Seeing Dean miss that sitter was the worst experience of the lot," Allardyce admitted.

"Villa had just had Mark Delaney sent off for two bookings and Eidur Gudjohnsen got down that space and played a ball back . . . and there was the goal, at his mercy.

"He was four or five yards out and it needed just a side-foot volley - and over it went.

"Having suffered the disappointment of two terrible performances against Tranmere in the Worthington Cup semi-final a couple of months earlier, it was really hard to take.

"Dean rang me yesterday to wish us luck and I ribbed him about the miss - only tongue-in-cheek though. He's big enough to take it.

"There couldn't have been a better player to present a chance to like that to; 99 times out of 100 he would have stuck it away.

"Unfortunately, we went on to lose on penalties."