Weston PARK aim to be the first Hampshire side to lift the English Schools Football Association U16 Cup after winning the southern final.
The team from Southampton, dubbed the "untouchables" and managed by former Hibernian player Alan Orr, booked their place in the Selhurst Park final with a dramatic extra-time win over Kingsford Community School at RAF Cosford in Wolverhampton.
Weston did appear in the 1988 final, losing in a replay to a Sunderland school.
Although the opposition in the southern final included academy players from West Ham and Dagenham & Redbridge, Weston went into the game high on confidence after earlier wins against teams from Wiltshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Dorset.
Weston began in a bright fashion and almost took the lead as early as the fifth minute when Sam James narrowly looped a shot wide of the post after good work from Liam Crook down the left.
They continued to pressurise the Kingsford goal and it took a stunning save to stop TJ Cuthbertson's rasping 25-yard drive.
James struck a post soon after and the Kingsford keeper again proved difficult to beat, saving smartly from Jamie Barron's shot.
Weston continued their domination of the game in the second half, with Gary Crook heading against the post, but, following wave after wave of unsuccessful attack, Weston started to look edgy.
Goalkeeper Matthew Brown was forced to make a superb save from a Kingsford free kick and Joe Prince-Wright did well to react and clear the ball as it rebounded off a post.
With five minutes to go, disaster struck for Weston as Kingsford's striker raced through and coolly slotted home, despite appearing to haul down Craig Randall in the process.
It seemed as if Weston were to be cruelly denied, but with two minutes left, captain Liam Crook rescued his side with a right-footed strike from inside the box.
Weston dominated extra time, but it seemed destined for penalties until Prince-Wright calmly controlled and netted a close-range shot from Crook's corner.
Weston's opponents in the Tuesday, May 10 final will be Montgomery High School, Blackpool, who won their semi-final against Leicester's Rawlins School on penalties.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article