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."

Photo: Action Images

bobble added 00:53 - Apr 18 he was clever enough to see keane was useless and taking the club down so he got out . pretty smart i think
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Upbeat~ added 02:20 - Apr 18 Well done Jon! Good to see things have worked out well for you.
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DiamondGezzer added 07:10 - Apr 18 For those having a pop at him, I wonder where we would be in the league if we still had him and his energy now. Please don't say he was struggling for us before leaving, I believe we all know EVERY strikers has periods when they can't hit the target. Well done Jon.
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itfc1878 added 09:28 - Apr 18 Great player who served the club well!
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jas0999 added 09:39 - Apr 18 I not entirely sure if there is any point bringing all this up again, as both Walters and Roy have left the club. Always like to see ex-players do well, so congrats to Jon and Stoke for reaching the final. Equally, I don't think Roy is 100% responsible for Jon leaving - as someone else pointed out he rated Walters highly, but Walters wanted to go to a Premiership club. We also got a great deal. End of story really.

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tallguy6767 added 09:59 - Apr 18 Can't see the point in this story, I doubt other club sites harp on about former players, let's focus on the ones at the club. Anyway he was poor in the last season ,obviously had the hump with keane but could of been more professional and played for the shirt. C.O.Y.B.
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WeWereZombies added 10:20 - Apr 18 But will Asmir Begovic get in the Stoke team for the final?
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BlueBadger added 10:32 - Apr 18 Boooooooo Walters booooooooooo
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simonsays added 13:08 - Apr 18 Really not interested in what this greedy trouble maker does or thinks. He started our demise when he fell out with Keane AFTER being made captain!
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TheRef added 16:08 - Apr 18 Well donr Jon, this is a true sucsess story of how to get on with life when released by a top flight club, he knuckled down at chester and got good rewards by coming to town, scored a memorable hatrick against bristol, and was 110% commited to playing football, he took his chance with town well and is now playing in the prem, and scoring and now in a cup final, if only bolton knew what a gem they had, well done Jon, a lot of young players should take a look at you and say " i'll try like he did"

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JayITFC added 16:14 - Apr 18 @marshallsmullet Well aware we signed him off the back of the 2 Chester FA cup games. That still means he was scouted - it's just that the opposition was us! ;)
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bluearmy4life added 17:59 - Apr 18 Well done Jon. Keane made him leave on bad terms with Town.
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h32 added 23:06 - Apr 18 Pleased that Jon Walters has been a success as I expected - somewhat more than a few said he wouldn't I seem to remember though !! Egg on face some of you ??
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