Wednesday 15 January 2053
Poundland Bescot Stadium – Carabao Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg
Walsall 4–2 Bournemouth 
Marney 26′, Agius 37′, Machochi 45+1′, Fitzgerald 66′ – Bergkamp 23′, Blenkinsop 45+3′ | Aggregate: 5–3
From 14th in League One to Wembley. Walsall produced a thunderous display of courage and chaos to dump Premier League Bournemouth out of the Carabao Cup and reach the final in stunning fashion.
Following a 1–1 draw in the first leg, the tie was balanced — but Walsall turned up the heat. Jerry Bergkamp opened the scoring for Bournemouth in the 23rd minute with a deflected free kick that wrong-footed Paul Anderson.
Tony Marney responded quickly, hammering home from close range after being teed up by Jaud Machochi. Ant Agius then made it 2–1, rising brilliantly to nod in after Robert Hostench‘s error under pressure.
Machochi capped a sensational first half with a superb solo effort — driving in low at the near post to make it 3–1. Jordon Blenkinsop offered Bournemouth hope with a tidy skidding finish in stoppage time, but that was as close as the Cherries got.
Patrick Fitzgerald added Walsall’s fourth with a fierce strike from 19 metres out, putting the tie to bed at 5–3 on aggregate. A late Bournemouth equaliser was chalked off after VAR intervention — the final insult on a nightmare evening for the top-flight side.
Player of the Match: Jaud Machochi (8.2)
Attendance: Not recorded
Walsall’s Wembley dream is no longer a dream — it’s reality.