February 2013: CITY 0 SWANSEA 5 (Dyer 16, 47; Michu 40, de Guzman pen 59, 90)

THIS week sees the Carabao Cup final take place at Wembley. So, what better time to turn the clock back six years to when it was City strolling on the field of legends.

Yes, the result will go down as the most one-sided showpiece in the League Cup’s history.

But the Bantams had already made their mark by becoming the first club from the fourth tier to reach a major Wembley final.

The achievement of simply getting that far is something unlikely to ever be equalled. Look at this Sunday’s combatants – Manchester City and Chelsea.

More Bantams nostalgia: Read here

Even if the actual game against Swansea itself was a non-event, that almost pales into insignificance compared with the Herculean efforts in a team from the bottom division going all the way.

Other than in South Wales, that final will not be remembered for the five goals from the men in white.

Nor for Matt Duke’s dismissal as referee Kevin Friend proved anything but with his hard-hearted application of the letter of the law to red card the City keeper.

The memory we will all take away was the public demonstration of immense West Yorkshire pride in the closing stages.

At 4-0 down and City reduced to 10 men, many fans could have been excused for heading for an early get away. The game as a contest was long since over.

But not one Bantam flickered; not one claret-and-amber clad supporter flinched. Instead they rose as one from their seats to proclaim their love for the team.

“Stand up if you love City” roared out from one half of Wembley; the losing half.

It did not stop for 20 minutes, even when Swansea inflicted one more spiteful blow with a fifth goal in the last minute.

Still those fans did not sit down; still they did not shut up. Emotion dripped from the City faithful, both young and old.

The game itself? What game? Even now the actual match details remain sketchy – or well buried out of sight and out of mind.

But for the record, Swansea took 17 minutes to open their account when Nathan Dyer tapped in after Duke parried from Michu.

The Spaniard then got the second as half-time approached, firing through Carl McHugh’s legs and beyond the diving keeper.

It was done and dusted three minutes into the second period when Dyer curled in his second.

Then Duke tripped Jonathan de Guzman, who slotted the penalty past freshly-arrived substitute John McLaughlin after Friend had brandished his red card over the foul.

City did at least manage a corner – and a shot when Gary Jones squeezed one on target. It may have taken four bounces on the way through to goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel but at least it broke the duck.

And earned a roar that would have justified any goal.

De Guzman still had time for his second before the end but those Swansea celebrations were pretty much drowned out by the wall of noise from Yorkshire voices.

“The backing for their team in adversity was a wonderful example of passion and loyalty,” remarked FA chairman David Bernstein.

Jones was holding back tears as he saluted the supporters afterwards, his captain’s armband clenched in his jaw. He knew the only City star of the show that day.

The under-underdogs, as Swansea boss Michael Laudrup had called them, had more than risen to the occasion off the pitch if not on it.

Wembley may be noisy this weekend but the volume will not carry that same sense of out-of-this-world emotion. For two Premier League heavyweights, it's just another glorified day at the office.

For those have followed the Bantams with little glory to hunt - it really was something special.

Just imagine the decibels if their team really had turned up.

CITY: Duke, Darby, McArdle, McHugh, Good (Davies 46), Thompson (Hines 73), Jones, Doyle, Atkinson, Wells (McLaughlin 57), Hanson.

SWANSEA: Tremmell, Davies, Williams, Rangel, Routledge, Britton, Dyer (Lamah 77), Hernandez, de Guzman, Michu, Ki Sung-Yueng (Monk 62).

REFEREE: Kevin Friend.

ATTENDANCE: 82,597