Sonny Bradley grabbed a dramatic late winner as the Tigers came from behind to beat Stoke 2-1 and progress to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup.
Bradley fired home in added time to add to Mark Cullen's earlier strike to cap an excellent night's work by Billy Russell's side.
The Tigers welcomed Cullen back into their side as they lined up with a 4-4-2 formation.
It was a fairly even start to the game, although Stoke put in a couple of hefty challenges in an attempt to knock City out of their stride.
Billy Ward was forced to make the first save of the night when, in the 21st minute, he went down low to his left to push away Tom Urwin's powerful drive.
Moments later, Danny Wilkinson was inches away from putting through his own goal as he diverted a shot behind for a corner which City defended.
Cullen took a nasty blow to the face as he competed for a high cross with Stoke goalkeeper David Parton. It took a while for the striker to get back up onto his feet, but he was eventually cleared to carry on.
A good move from City ten minutes before the break could have brought a better result when Cullen fed Richard Overment to his right, but Overment was well off target with his shot from just inside the area.
Stoke's Alex Hedley was booked for a wild lunge on Dean Deagle while Cullen's frustration at seeing a pass go out of play for a throw in sparked mild amusement from the crowd.
Just when it looked as though City would go in level at the break, they fell behind when a deep free kick was allowed to get through to Cameron Mitchell and he controlled neatly before beating Ward at his near post.
But City did go into the changing rooms level as they fought back to equalise in added time. Conor Townsend's cross from the left wasn't dealt with by the Stoke defence and although the ball got away from Overment, it fell nicely for Cullen who came up with a cool right-footed finish into the bottom far corner.
Half Time: Tigers 1-1 Stoke
Both sides had a player booked at the start of the second half. Home captain Ryan Connor saw yellow for a challenge on Danny Emerton while City's Lee Wright was cautioned for obstruction.
Stoke's Matthew Cohen then picked up a yellow card for blocking off Cullen and from the resulting free kick, Dean Deagle's shot landed on the roof of the net.
Emerton was also booked after clashing with Danny Stockhall.
Stoke were starting to create chances and Cohen was unlucky to see his effort drift past the post.
Ward produced a splendid save to deny Stockhall before City brought Ray Ford on for Overment.
Cullen had a great chance to put his side in front with 15 minutes to go. Controlling Holohan's superb ball over the top with one touch, the striker found himself one-on-one with Parton. But he had to take his shot quickly and the goalkeeper saved with his legs.
Ford fired an effort across the face of goal while at the other end, Bradley's timely intervention denied Stockhall.
It was the Tigers who snatched a winner deep into added time. Ironically, at the home of Stoke, it came from a long throw. Joe Fox hurled the ball into the box and it dropped for Bradley, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net.
The win sets up a fifth round tie at home to Crystal Palace.
Tigers: Billy Ward, Lee Wright, Danny Wilkinson, Sonny Bradley, Dean Deagle, Danny Emerton, Joe Fox, Gavan Holohan, Conor Townsend, Mark Cullen, Richard Overment (Ford 70).
Subs: Olly West, Joel Shortland, Tom Bennett, Ray Ford, Jack Barlow.
Stoke: David Parton, Alex Hedley, Zack Foster, Ryan Connor, Matthew Cohen, Rodney McDonald, Danny Stockhall, Andy Nicholls, Louis Moult, Cameron Mitchell, Tom Urwin.
Subs: Warwick Alexander, Adam Vickers, Craig Sinclair, Laton Wint, Jack Harrison.
Referee: Mr R. Johnson.
