Walsall boss Mat Sadler said guiding the Saddlers to a play-off final is the proudest moment of his footballing career after they completed a 4-1 aggregate win over Chesterfield.
Late goals from Charlie Lakin and Levi Amantchi – with an Armando Dobra consolation for the Spireites in between – earned Walsall a 2-1 victory on the night.
And it provided a measure of redemption for a side who topped the League Two table for more than half of the season, only to falter badly to finish fourth after a 13-game winless run.
Asked where reaching the final – against AFC Wimbledon or Notts County on May 26 – ranked in his achievements, Sadler said: “The top, for me. The very top.
“There’s never any hiding place – it’s been tough. But even throughout that run, we weren’t very far away – we drew a lot of games when maybe we should have won.
“I always remained and maintained that level of consistency that I knew we were a good team and when results weren’t going our way, we knew we had to stick together.
“We’ve spoken in the build-up about what it means to play at Wembley. It’s a proud moment. For now we’ll enjoy tonight – and tomorrow, let’s get selling those tickets!
“Of course we know the job isn’t done yet, there’s one more step to go. But I’m a believer in making sure we celebrate moments and this is a proud one.
“We’ve maintained that togetherness throughout everything this season – through good, through bad, through the middle. For me, that’s the recipe for success.”
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook was left to rue his side’s failure to turn possession into clear-cut chances over the two legs.
But he remained positive after a promising first season back in the EFL in which the Spireites snatched a play-off spot on the final day.
“We thought we could learn from the first game where we had a lot of possession without any penetration and we tried to change that tonight,” Cook said.
“But we’ll take our medicine, that’s the nature of the game – you have to lose, you’ve got to have some manners when you get beat because you can enjoy winning even more.
“It’s on us now to go away, lick our wounds and come back stronger next season. We’ve done our best, finished seventh and hopefully we finish higher next year.”
Cook was unhappy, however, about two pitch invasions by Saddlers fans – one after Amantchi’s late goal and the other after the final whistle.
“Player safety has to be paramount – and unfortunately at the end, the players weren’t safe on the pitch, that’s really disappointing,” Cook added.
“They [the invading fans] have denied their players a moment that’s special in your career, savouring the final whistle and what it means to get to Wembley.”
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