Wanderers opened Wembley Stadium with a famous FA Cup final victory against West Ham United, so how fitting that they should get a chance to return a century later to add another piece of silverware to the cabinet.

The Whites played to type and made their fans suffer, toiling against 10-man Stanley for more than an hour without managing to break through.

Just as penalties looked a distinct possibility and fingernails bitten further towards the quick, Elias Kachunga’s 82nd-minute goal followed quickly by another one for the scrapbook from Aaron Morley have made sure the Wanderers army will be heading south in April to do battle with Plymouth Argyle.

It might not have been a vintage Bolton display; these were not ideal Bolton conditions. On such a big occasion you can perhaps forgive a few nerves. And doesn’t everyone deserve their moment in the sun? From the owners, Football Ventures, who took a car-crash of a club out of administration, survived a pandemic, then lovingly rebuilt things from ground level once again, to the fans, many of whom had seen their team dismantled 7-1 on this very ground just over three years ago, relegated,

Picture the celebrations some 7,000 miles away in Argentina, where a small group of ardent Latin American Bolton fans had planned to see their club for the first time live in April and will now be able to do so at Wembley.

And let’s not forget Evatt, his backroom staff and his squad, who have embraced this competition and now have the chance to go and compete for a trophy to cap off their efforts.

There are ghosts to be exorcised at Wembley and no club more deserving of a return, some 100 years after they first graced the hallowed turf.

Evatt made four changes from the side that lost at Wycombe, Kyle Dempsey succumbing to an ankle injury and Gethin Jones only fit enough to make the bench.

Wanderers knew this game would follow a similar path to their last. And even after their hosts were reduced to 10 men with a straight red card for Sean McConville, they found it hard to break them down.

Stanley old boy Dion Charles had the chance of the half. He was played in by a fine slide-rule pass from captain Ricardo Santos but Lukas Jensen was quick off his line to divert it past the post.

Just as he had been at the weekend, Conor Bradley was the chief outlet. The Liverpool youngster got himself into a few good positions on the right, pulling back crosses towards Charles and Kachunga, but could not find the bullseye ball.

Stanley hustled in their usual manner. With a full compliment of players they even gambled a few players forward to ask something of James Trafford’s goal but McConville’s dipping shot from distance aside, struggled to test the Bolton keeper, once a loanee in these parts.

Not 30 seconds after Aaron Pressley was booked for grabbing at Bradley, McConville’s rather thoughtless knee-high challenge left ref Barrott with very little choice but to go one better and show him the red.

That should have been a green light for Wanderers to push on. Much like the weekend, however, they found themselves logjammed for the remainder of the half, passing this way and that, on the edge of the Stanley penalty box.

Within a few minutes of the restart, things really caught fire. Bolton’s defenders should have been able to cope with a ball which bounced just over halfway but Trafford thundered off his line to help out, colliding with Liam Coyle, with both players landing in a heap.

Trafford was booked after some lengthy treatment, home fans would argue somewhat fortuitously, but Coyle remained in a bad condition and had to be stretchered off.

As the game restarted, the Manchester City keeper walked back to a full home end. This would really be a rest of his focus and concentration.

Within a few seconds, Charles had the ball in the net – tapping in at the far post from Bradley’s low cross – but celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag.

Touchpaper lit, Bolton finally did start showing some urgency. Morley had a goal-bound shot blocked and Lee pushed a follow-up effort agonisingly wide.

How the Whites did not take the lead on 63 minutes, we will never know. With the home side carved wide open Charles curled a shot against the inside of the post and Declan John followed up with a rocket of a shot that bounced off the underside of the bar.

Evatt pleaded with his players from the technical area to stay calm, to show patience, not to force passes that were not on.

With so little on the bench to positively affect the game, the Bolton boss changed up the left flank, bringing on Jones and Randell Williams.

The surge had genuinely started to fade… And then it suddenly sparked into life once again.

Kachunga had been vilified for his red card against Forest Green – issued, wrongly, to Dion Charles – and has had a fight to win over his doubters right the way through his time at the UniBol.

But, my, if he could have chosen a time to score a goal, or gain a spot of redemption. Accrington couldn’t clear the ball, Charles tried to wrap his foot around it, but Kachunga was not going to miss from there, looking right into the eyes of the travelling fans. And, oh, what a chorus when it hit the back of the net.

Any prospect of a nervous finale was cleared up quickly. Morley turned it on for the cameras once again with a wave of his right foot, sending a cannon-like shot past Jensen to sent the Bolton fans into another wave of rapture.