Reading 2-4 Aston Villa: The Daily Mirror match report

John Carew gave Aston Villa’s season the kiss of life – just as it threatened to collapse.

Villa arrived at Championship Reading still sore from their controversial Carling Cup final defeat to Manchester United when Nemanja Vidic should have seen red.

And the Premier League visitors found themselves 2-0 down at the break following Shane Long’s double either side of Carew having an effort harshly ruled out for offside. Villa were booed off and their season was on the verge of imploding in the space of a week.

Martin O’Neill’s side are seventh in the top flight and in with a chance of qualifying for the ­Champions League in fourth.

But this competition presents Villa’s last chance for silverware this season plus a gateway to Europe.

And Villa then produced a barnstorming display to come roaring back in the second half as Reading folded to show why they are in a relegation fight.

It made for an exhilarating FA Cup tie live on television and gave O’Neill his first Villa win in 13 attempts in March.

Norwegian striker Carew, 30, was the catalyst behind the revival as he scored a hat-trick after setting up Ashley Young to make it 2-1.

When Carew is on his game, O’Neill describes the giant striker as unplayable and he was at his devastating best yesterday. Yet he was only in the team because fellow forward Gabriel Agbonlahor was sent home ill.

Carew, who scored twice in Villa’s replay win over Crystal Palace in the previous round, was also omitted from the starting line-up at Wembley against United.

But there is no way O’Neill will be able to drop the marksman on this evidence as he cemented his rapport with the Villa fans by scoring all three goals at the away end.

Carew’s heroics ensure Villa will visit Wembley for the second time this season as O’Neill continues to search for his first silverware since taking charge in August 2006. But his side looked anything like semi-final material in a dire first half display at the Madejski Stadium until Carew took his tally for the season to 11.

O’Neill admitted: “We needed to do something because we played so meekly in the first half.

“I was quite pleased to go in at half-time just 2-0 down. I felt we took time until we treated the tie like a quarter-final.

“But we have shown great character and the performance in the second half was fantastic.”

Reading dominated from the start and had a goal disallowed early on after Simon Church pushed Stephen Warnock before Jimmy Kebe smashed in a shot on the turn.

But they took the lead from Brian Howard’s corner as Matt Mills soared highest to steer the ball to the far post where Long nodded in from four yards in the 27th minute.

Villa might have levelled ­immediately when Carew swept in a free-kick from James Milner, but the assistant referee controversially flagged for offside.

Despite the let-off, Reading remained the better side.

And Brian McDermott’s men increased their lead three minutes before the interval when the impressive Gylfi Sigurdsson released Kebe down the right.

Long then kept his cool again to put the Royals 2-0 ahead with a low side-footed finish from 10 yards.

But Villa were level just six minutes into the second half.

First, winger Young struck from close range after a Carew cross two minutes after the re-start.

And the Norwegian hitman then got on the scoresheet himself in the 51st minute to head in Stewart Downing’s cross. The goal sparked delirious scenes among the 4,230 away fans.

Carew then increased their joy by putting the visitors 3-2 ahead in the 57th minute as he cleverly diverted the ball in with the outside of his right foot from Warnock’s superb cross.

Strike partner Emile Heskey could then have put the game beyond doubt when he went clean through, but Adam Federici made an excellent save.

Yet there was no denying Carew when he was fouled by Ivar Ingimarsson before notching ­emphatically from the spot in injury time to make it 4-2.