Back in 1993, Villa's Australian stopper Mark Bosnich enjoyed one of the games of his career to break Sunderland hearts in a League Cup clash.

Few who were there will forget it.

Sunderland absolutely dominated that game, but Bosnich produced a display so good that afterwards the Echo match marks awarded him a pretty much unheard of 10/10 while then Villa boss, victorious Ron Atkinson joked: "We were hammered 1-4."

Last night, Villa's second-choice keeper Bradley "Goose" Guzan replicated his predecessor's heroics with one of the great individual displays so far this season and he, too, deserves perfect marks.

For the young American produced stunning saves at the end of the first and second halves to keep his side level and also saved FOUR penalties one in normal time and three in a one-sided penalty shoot-out which almost qualified as a mismatch.

True, Sunderland were maybe not as dominant as they had been 16 years ago when they kept going down to sucker punches.

But they were visibly a better side than their more highly-rated Premier League opponents over last night's 120 minutes and, but for Guzan's skill and the home side's dubious finishing, there would only have been one winner.

And that winner would have been Sunderland.

Both clubs fielded virtually full-strength sides as Steve Bruce and Martin O'Neill signalled how seriously they took this competition as well as how much they respected their opponents' abilities.

O'Neill made only two changes from Saturday and the inclusion of Emile Heskey and Nigel Reo-Coker at the expense of John Carew and Steve Sidwell could hardly have been said to have significantly weakened it.

Sunderland made more changes, largely forced by injury, with Phil Bardsley and Darren Bent unable to play and their places taken by Paulo Da Silva and Fraizer Campbell. Kieran Richardson moved into central midfield, with Jordan Henderson replacing Steed Malbranque on the right, while there was a new left-flank pairing of George McCartney and Daryl Murphy.

Youngster Adam Reed was a surprise inclusion on the bench for the first time.

Although the formation was 4-4-2 in possession, the lively Campbell frequently dropped to the right wing to create a five-man midfield.

The system was to work well, but it took time for Sunderland's players to adjust and, while they did so, Villa were the dominant force both on the field and in the stands.

In recognition of the West Midlanders having four away games in a row, the club had offered free bus travel to the North East and their fans responded by travelling in large numbers and out-chanting the home support in the opening stages.

They had plenty to cheer – for their side might have gone ahead as early as the third minute when Gabriel Agbonlahor crossed beyond Michael Turner on the right and Heskey's touch at the near post flashed across Craig Gordon's goal.

McCartney's eighth minute foul offered Villa their next sight of goal, but the free-kick into the box from 35 yards was headed wide by Collins.

Sunderland's first effort on goal came in the 12th minute when Henderson fired a low half-volley just wide.

From that point on, Sunderland fans found their voices, the players found their rhythm and the balance switched in favour of the hosts.

Time and again Sunderland outfought and outmuscled Villa to carve out openings, but each time the Wearsiders squandered their opportunities from set-pieces, with Kieran Richardson, in particular, having a night to forget from free-kicks and corners.

In the 25th minute, Kenwyne Jones and Richardson combined cutely to offer Henderson a long-range effort and his 25-yard shot flew just past Guzan's right-hand post.

This was a positive spell for Sunderland with Henderson's energy and Campbell's directness to the fore and it was just as well that Villa had taken the precaution of selecting their very best defence.

Campbell continued to cause problems down the right and, after a sprint down the wing, he curled a fantastic cross to the far post which James Collins intercepted perfectly before Jones could reach it.

From the corner, Sunderland pressed intelligently and it looked like they deserved a penalty just before the half hour when Henderson surged through and was brought down by Richard Dunne.

But referee Phil O'Dowd, who had minutes earlier missed a clear hand-ball in the centre of the park, and frustrated both sets of fans for most of the night, ruled that no foul had taken place.

Henderson had a chance to exact revenge on the stroke of half-time when the ball dropped to him on the edge of the Villa area.

He could not have struck his 20-yard volley more powerfully or sweetly, but his goalbound bullet was blocked by Guzan – though the instinctive save was as much self-defence as it was genuine save.

The stalemate continued in the second half, but it was an absorbing contest full of skill, pace, touch and enterprise – two teams on top of their game looking for an advantage.

The time up to the hour mark was frustrating for both teams, each proving capable of good beginnings but no endings to promising moves – Henderson going closest when Jones sent him away in the 55th minute and his looping, first-time effort drifted just wide of the top left-hand corner of Guzan's goal.

In the 68th minute, after sustained Sunderland pressure, Villa broke away, but the superb Michael Turner proved equal to James Milner's eventual shot.

It was great stuff going into the last 20 minutes as tiredness crept in and the game increasingly opened up.

Substitutions started coming thick and fast – Andy Reid on for Murphy in the 72nd minute being the most popular with home fans, though it took time for the Irish midfielder to make an impact.

There were chances for both sides before the final whistle, and Gordon made a brilliant save from Agbonlahor after the Villa striker was put through by Milner – the Sunderland keeper spreading himself boldly to block the shot.

But the game's defining moment seemed to have come in the 83rd minute when Carlos Cuellar charged down Reid's cross from the left with his hands. Although the block seemed to be outside the box, referee O'Dowd pointed straight to the spot.

Kieran Richardson and Kenwyne Jones debated who would take it and it was the striker who won the discussion but lost the plot when he stabbed an unconvincing low shot to the Villa keeper's left and Guzan stooped to conquer.

Neither side could find a breakthrough in the remainder of normal timem ensuring 30 minutes of extra time, which Sunderland dominated but from which few chances flowed.

Villa defender Cuellar had a good 94th-minute opportunity, only to squirt his shot across the face of Sunderland's goal, while Richardson and Henderson drove shots narrowly wide.

But easily the best chance to seal the game in open play fell to Richardson just three minutes before full-time when substitute Malbranque pinched the ball off Stephen Warnock and freed his fellow midfielder.

Richardson sprinted two thirds of the length of the pitch with only Guzan to beat, but, when he could have played in Malbranque, he went for glory and the Villa keeper was in the right place at the right time yet again.

That led to the dreaded penalty shoot-out and Guzan produced fine saves from Reid, Cana and Henderson's penalty attempts. Bold and brave to the end, there was no way back for Sunderland from that.

They had been the better side but, ultimately, they were goosed.