Tony Pulis relishes Wembley return as Stoke thrash Bolton in FA Cup

Posted Monday, April 18, 2011 by theguardian.com

• Stoke manager says his team is 'full of confidence'
• Bolton captain Kevin Davies 'embarrassed'

Tony Pulis relishes Wembley return as Stoke thrash Bolton in FA Cup
Stoke's manager, Tony Pulis, celebrates his team's victory in their FA Cup semi-final win over Bolton at Wembley.

Tony Pulis believes his Stoke City side will be full of confidence when they return to Wembley to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final next month after their remarkable 5-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers today. It was the biggest win in an FA Cup semi-final since 1939, when Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Grimsby by the same scoreline, and prompted Kevin Davies, the Bolton captain, to admit that he felt "ashamed and embarrassed" by his team's performance.

Pulis was ecstatic after leading Stoke to the first FA Cup final in their history courtesy of first-half goals from Matthew Etherington, Robert Huth and Kenwyne Jones and two from Jon Walters after the interval as Bolton collapsed. "The players have embraced this, they can't believe it, they've really enjoyed it and they'll look forward to coming back," said the Stoke manager.

"This will give them the confidence to come back on 14 May and to give it a good go. We know we'll be playing against good players, a great football club with great tradition. The final will be tough; Manchester City have thrown a lot of money at it. But we'll do our best, as we've done against Bolton."

The prospect of facing City at Wembley evokes bitter memories for Pulis after his experience in 1999, when his Gillingham side surrendered a two-goal lead in the Second Division play-offs before losing on penalties. "I'd never been back to Wembley since," said Pulis. "I thought we played really well that day and didn't deserve to lose. We lost on penalties. But I'll tell you what it did do – it actually made me a much stronger person. You take things out of defeat as well as out of victory."

Owen Coyle and his Bolton players must try to do the same after a chastening result that shattered their hopes of reaching the final for the first time since 1958. "It was a horrible experience, the manner of the defeat," said Davies. "The first goal was like something from five-a-side rather than like on an occasion like this. It is just a terrible dream at the minute. We are all devastated and very emotional. It is very difficult and I feel ashamed and embarrassed."

Coyle, who claimed Stoke have a "real chance" against City, made no excuses. "When you come to this stage and you're outperformed by going toe-to-toe and playing your best, no problem, but we weren't today. We underperformed and that leaves a bad taste in the mouth," said Bolton's manager. "We presented the goals we lost, we capitulated and it's not good enough."