Ex-Town striker Jon Walters couldn’t hide his delight after netting twice as Stoke reached the FA Cup final for the first time by beating his former club Bolton 5-0 at Wembley this afternoon. The 27-year-old added the Potters’ fourth and fifth in the second half, Matthew Etherington, Robert Huth and Kenwyne Jones having set them well on their way before the break.
Walters, who joined Stoke in August for a fee of £2.75 million rising to £3.25 million on appearances, says today was the greatest day of his footballing life: "To score two goals at Wembley and crown a win like that is the stuff that dreams are made of and it is certainly the pinnacle of my career.
"I just want to keep this run going now and score a few more goals because it has been a remarkable few weeks for the club and we now have to finish the season off in style.
"To start the game like we did and get three goals in the first half hour was absolutely fantastic for us and that really settled any nerves we had.
"We expected Bolton to come at us in the second half because they had nothing to lose, so to get the fourth goal really killed off any hope of them coming back."
The final on May 14th against Manchester City will be Stoke’s first in their 148-year history, something Walters says he and his team-mates were conscious of before today's game: "We were aware of the history in the cup and obviously we wanted to change that and reach a first FA Cup final, and thankfully we did that.
"It was a fantastic day for the fans too. As ever, they were magnificent and you could see what it meant to all of them. They had a great day out.
"There is still a long way to go but we are confident. It's the best chance this club has had of winning this trophy and we want make the most of that."