Mills sparks Posh's shock triumph at expense of second City

A relative newcomer to English football, Tom Brady would admit he has much to learn. The Vertu Trophy final rolled out a not-yet-lost tradition, a Ferguson heist at Wembley, as Darren Ferguson, in his fourth spell at Peterborough, collected the lower league trophy for the third time as manager.

- John Brewin

If ambitions are set far higher at big-spending Birmingham, failure to collect the trophy to accompany promotion was a dark disappointment for their fans. League One's champions were beaten by two superb Posh goals. The side with 47 fewer points, still not clear of relegation danger, became the first club to retain the trophy.

"We deserved to win," said Ferguson, who also won the trophy as a player. "We weren't lucky today, we fully deserved to win. Given the opposition, it has to be the best one. You could argue they're the best team League One has ever seen."

Peterborough have still never lost at Wembley. If Brady guided the New England Patriots to regular-season NFL London wins there, this was 90 minutes-plus of agony for his soccer club. "Suffering is part of life, part of football, we will grow from it," the Birmingham manager, Chris Davies, said. "All today proves is what they've done in the league. It will hurt for a long time but it shows the consistency we have had."