Wanderers fans are bouncing with joy and getting ready for a long-awaited return to Wembley after beating Accrington Stanley in the semi-final of the Papa John’s Trophy.

Two late goals from Elias Kachunga and Aaron Morley saw off the challenge from League One strugglers Stanley, who went down to 10 men after just 22 minutes.

April 2 will be the first time that Wanderers have returned to the national stadium since the infamous 5-0 defeat by Stoke in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final.

Boltonians packed out the away end at the Wham Stadium, with demand for tickets at a premium.

One of those lucky enough to witness the victory first hand was Cllr John Walsh, who’s not missed a home match for “the best part of 60 years”.

READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers players rated out 10 in 2-0 win at Accrington Stanley

He said: “I’m obviously delighted. It puts the town on the map in a big way.

“It’s the opportunity for the players to perform at a higher level and hopefully give a boost to our promotion prospects, which at the end of the day is a more important goal to achieve.

“The atmosphere was fantastic. In the last few matches the atmosphere has been absolutely fantastic.

“Let’s hope April 2 is another joyful day.”

The competition incorporates teams from the English Football League’s League One and League Two, England’s third and fourth tier, as well as under 21s teams from clubs in the Premier League and the Championship.

The Bolton News: Kachunga scoresKachunga scores (Image: Camerasport)

The final will be played against Wanderers’ promotion rivals, Plymouth Argyle.

Cllr Walsh is already beginning to arrange his trip to Wembley, which he has done with Wanderers many times before.

He said: “It’s been a long while since we won anything.

"When you’ve had a difficult time, as the club has endured, to win something is good and it all help to boost the expectations and hopes and hopefully give us something to build on.”

READ MORE: BIG MATCH VERDICT: Accrington Stanley 0-2 Bolton Wanderers

Ian Bridge is secretary at the Bolton Wanderers FC Supporters Trust.

He was restricted to watching the game on television.

He said: “With 14,000 season ticket holders and 2,600 allocated, it’s no wonder we sold out in a short space of time.”

The Bolton News: Red cardRed card (Image: Camerasport)

Ian says the pattern of the semi-final went as he expected, with Accrington’s early red card driving them to “reinforce” their tactics of getting men behind the ball to frustrate Wanderers, which he believes can be a weakness for Ian Evatt’s side.

He said: “The script was fully written for them then, but it was only a matter of time that we got a goal, in my head.

“Its nice that we’re going back to Wembley now.

“When you think of the dark days of 2019 when players and staff weren’t getting paid wages and we went into administration and we nearly lost the club I think Wembley was so far away from our thoughts at that moment in time.

“It’s nice to have positive things to think about.”

READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers' Elias Kachunga on Accrington Stanley win

He added: “We’ve had some good and bad times at Wembley.

“I remember the Tranmere play-off, that was a horrible day. But I also remember our play-off against Reading, which is one of my favourite games.”

Ian says this achievement is “massively” down to the owners and staff that are currently running the club.

“One analogy I’ve used in the past is we were a super tanker going in the wrong direction.

“You can’t stop a super tanker like that.

"You’ve got to take time to do it and I think in the three-and-a-half years Football Ventures have had they’ve certainly stopped that super tanker and now we need to turn it round and head it in the opposite direction.”

Cllr Andy Morgan is another season ticket holder at the UniBol, although he gave Wednesday’s ticket up so his son’s friend could attend.

He agrees with Ian that the owners must be commended for the club’s current success.

“It’s just fantastic. It’s brilliant for the town,” he said.

The Bolton News: Ian EvattIan Evatt (Image: Camerasport)

“The good times are returning under the chairmanship of Sharon Brittan and the management by Evatt.

READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers boss beaming with pride after Accrington Stanley win

“I hope we get a good 30,000 down to Wembley on April 2 to support the lads and bring back a trophy.

“We’ve had a barren  few years, but we’re back to the good times now and hopefully this the first of two trips this season, if we don’t get automatic promotion.

“It’s a good time to be a Wanderer.”

Cllr Morgan, whose previous Wembley trip was that loss to Stoke, is planning to head down in a group of around 50.

“Let’s hope that’s not the case this time and we can come back with a win.”

Everyone The Bolton News spoke to was in agreement that the final is set to be a tight affair between two impressive sides.