Walsall Wembley wonders sparked challenge

The Saddlers strutted out at the iconic home of football to face Bristol City in the final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

To get to the historic arch, Dean Smith's men had overcome Rochdale, Sheffield United and Tranmere to set up a tense semi-final against League One promotion favourites Preston North End.

Heading to Lancashire for the first leg, two goals in the last 10 minutes from Anthony Forde and Tom Bradshaw put Walsall in a commanding position.

They then battled their way to a 0-0 draw at the Banks's Stadium to prompt wild celebrations in WS1.

At the time, the Saddlers were just one of four Football League teams to have never played at the world's most famous stadium with Accrington Stanley, Crawley Town, and Hartlepool the others.

For most Saddlers fans, getting to Wembley – and losing that unwanted tag – was enough but 30,000 travelled down to the capital for their day out in the sun.

But while it was Steve Cotterill's City who were celebrating at the end following a 2-0 win, Bradshaw believes that game has had a big impact on the club's success this season.

"I remember going into that home game against Preston knowing we stood on the brink of making some real history for the club," Bradshaw said. "We were 2-0 up and that really changes the dynamics of a game. It meant it wasn't about showing our quality – it was all about showing our grit.

"That is now exactly what we have got to do for the final nine games of this season because we are in a great position in the league.

"It was a dream to get to Wembley and I think, at the start of the season, it was the dream of every Walsall fan to be in the position we are in now.

"To be level on points in second place – we are in such a strong position.

"We showed so much character over coming Preston to get to Wembley and we have continued to show that character.

"Now we just need to keep going."

Bradshaw believes the trip to Wembley confirmed Walsall was a club moving in the right direction.

"We were building blocks last year and we showed in glimpses what we were capable of," the Welsh striker added.

"Playing at Wembley was a great experience for all of us even though the result didn't go how we wanted it to – it was still a great learning curve.

"This year there hasn't been that many changes to the team – we had a few arrivals with Jason Demetriou and Neil Etheridge coming in. But the majority of the side is still the same.

"It was just a case of taking the best bits from the past few years, kicking on and becoming more consistent.

"This season we have really done that but it's not over yet – there is still a long way to go.

"It was great to see the fans so happy after that game against Preston and now we want to see them celebrating again but this time with promotion.

"The belief we can go up automatically is there 100 per cent.

"All we can do is keep winning and the rest will take care of itself."