West Ham already held a 2-0 lead on aggregate after the first leg, in which Jack Collison's first half double handed them the initiative.

And playing in front of their home fans at Upton Park, West Ham cruised to victory in the second leg as they set up a meeting with either Birmingham City or Blackpool in their bid to return to the English Premier League at the first attempt.

Club captain Kevin Nolan nodded in the opener for Sam Allardyce's side after just nine minutes, a goal that signalled an end to Cardiff's unlikely hopes of snatching a result.

Portuguese forward Ricardo Vaz Te – who scored 20 goals in the regular season – netted the second five minutes before the break.

And Nicky Maynard wrapped up the 5-0 aggregate win with his injury time finish as West Ham celebrated a comfortable victory.

After losing the 2010 playoff final to Blackpool, Cardiff City have now been knocked out of the play-off semi-finals for the second year in a row.