EOIN Toal is desperate to make a Wembley return that he can properly enjoy.

The Northern Irish defender was part of the Bolton side that beat Plymouth Argyle 4-0 in last season’s Papa Johns Trophy final but saw his game ended early by a horrific challenge from opposition striker Sam Cosgrove.

Fast forward just over 12 months and Toal could well meet Cosgrove again in this season’s play-off semi-final, with the former Wigan Athletic man now turning out for Barnsley.

Wanderers have all focus on the semi-final for now but the young defender admits that his celebrations last April were ruined somewhat by an ankle injury that ended up being a problem for several months. The opportunity to return to the national stadium and enjoy the ride would be a special thing indeed.

“I enjoyed winning, of course, but I had to go straight back home on the coach,” he told The Bolton News. “I couldn’t grab a drink or anything, I knew I needed to get looked after the next morning because it would have obviously swollen up even more. I just went home!

“All my family were over, all my mates were enjoying themselves, but all I could use the beer for was as an ice-pack.

“It would be great to put all that right but honestly just getting there is the main aim right now.

“You look at Friday night, it is a big, big game. We are really looking forward to it and I hope we can get a win to see us on our way.”

With the long-standing target of automatic promotion gone, the play-offs represent Wanderers’ last chance of playing Championship football next season.

Beaten only once in the last 12 games, Ian Evatt’s side is on a reasonable run, even though Toal admits the points return could have been higher.

“We are full of confidence, we are going to go there, take our A game and hopefully get a positive result,” he said.

“Getting back to Wembley would mean everything to everyone at the club, not just the players, of course, but it is two games away so we need to go to Barnsley and get a result.

“We are in decent form. We haven’t lost in a few games but we know a few of those should also have been wins and not draws.

“That has all gone now, we can’t dwell on it too much, it is a big game on Friday now.”