Hector Kyprianou of Peterborough United, lifts the Vertu EFL Trophy.Getty Images

Peterborough pulled off a surprise victory at Wembley

Glenn Speller
BBC Sport England at Wembley

Peterborough United created history and tore up the form book as they became the first club to retain the EFL Trophy, with an upset win over League One champions Birmingham City at Wembley.

A wonderful free-kick from former Aston Villa youngster Harley Mills opened the scoring, before a stunning strike from captain Hector Kyprianou put the Cambridgeshire outfit in the driving seat at the break.

Birmingham had little answer.

Blues were red-hot favourites to win the final, having clinched the third-tier title on Saturday and beaten Posh in the league on Tuesday, but Darren Ferguson's side did not read the script.

Ricky-Jade Jones and Kwame Poku might have added further gloss to the scoreline as Birmingham were limited to rare sights of goal, with keeper Jed Steer denying top scorer Jay Stansfield and Keshi Anderson wasting a golden opportunity by blasting over the bar.

Almost 50 points separate the two

With 47 points separating the sides in the League One table and Birmingham having already beaten Peterborough twice this season, the odds seemed stacked against them, and when Stansfield dragged a shot wide inside the opening five minutes they might have feared it was going to be a long afternoon.

But that was to be a fleeting glimpse of goal for City, as Peterborough then took a grip.

Keeper Ryan Allsop had already been forced to slide out at the feet of Abraham Odoh, before having to pick the ball out of the net on the quarter-hour mark.

Alex Cochrane bundled over the impressive Poku and, from 20 yards Mills, who spent two months of this season on loan at Enfield Town in the National League South, curled a superb free-kick beyond Allsop and in off the underside of the bar.

Ethan Laird was then forced into a last-ditch tackle as Odoh broke clear, but there was to be no escape for Birmingham on the stroke of half-time.

Peterborough's Harley Mills slides on his knees as he celebrates his goal against Rex Features

Peterborough goalscorer Harley Mills started his career at Birmingham's West Midlands rivals Aston Villa

Goalscorer Mills was again involved as his cross was flicked on by Ricky-Jade Jones and Kyprianou blasted home from the edge of the area.

Anderson wasted Birmingham's best chance five minutes after the restart when thrashing a shot over the bar when he might have cut the ball back to the onrushing Stansfield and Alfie May.

Stansfield then brought the first serious save out of Steer, on 53 minutes, but there was no real consistent pressure exerted on the Peterborough goal and both Jones and Poku missed chances to put the game to bed before Stansfield had a late effort ruled out by an offside flag.

Ferguson becomes the first manager to win this competition three times, but his team still have some work to do to safeguard their League One status for next season, as they are currently six points above the relegation zone.

'We just couldn't find gaps' - Davies

Birmingham boss Chris Davies has enjoyed an unbelievable first season in management, winning the league title with six games to spare.

But the 40-year-old said they had to "learn" from days like this.

"It wasn't to be our day – congratulations to Peterborough – they scored two fantastic goals," he told BBC Sport.

"We got to the final third consistently but it's how do you create chances from that?

"We just couldn't find gaps in their defence.

"We started to play a bit more after the free-kick and you think we're looking strong and can kick on but then they score right on half-time.

"I think over the course of the game we were the better team – they hit two worldies from outside the box but didn't do much else.

"What today goes to show is what can happen in football – you can have days like this home and away – but to win a league title with six games to go shows how consistent we have been and things like today can happen, unfortunately it's happened in a cup final.

"Sometimes you get a punch in the face – we have to learn from days like this.

"We've still got six games to go, within that there is a day I will savour where we will lift a trophy. What I want is performances and results we can be proud of.

"It's been a bizarre weekend but once we take a step back it's one we can reflect on."

'Today was our day' - Ferguson

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson lifting the Vertu TrophyRex Features

Peterborough's Darren Ferguson is the first manager to win the EFL Trophy three times

Ferguson insisted his team always believed they could pull off the upset.

"The game on Tuesday, although we lost, did us a lot of good because it gave the lads a lot of belief – they didn't blow us away," he explained.

"We are a team who can put in a performance like that and the lads played with real belief – it's the last thing I said to them, because you have to have belief against a team like that.

"The first goal was always going to be key and the two pieces of quality from Harley and Hector were the difference.

"We're a dangerous team when we go ahead – especially on a pitch like that.

"I thought we had the better chances in the second half. On our day we can give anyone a game and we've beaten the best team in the league.

"There's still a big job to do (in the league) but we'll let them enjoy this because you have to.

"Given the opposition, this is the best one of the three final wins, because you could argue they're one of the best teams League One has seen, and I have to congratulate them - but today was our day."

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