Bolton Wanderers' Xavier Simons (left) celebrates scoringPA Media

Xavier Simons (left) clinched the tie for Bolton with a composed finish in the second half

Ian Woodcock at Valley Parade
BBC Sport England

Xavier Simons' late goal helped Bolton Wanderers to a 2-0 aggregate win over Bradford City and a place in the League One play-off final against Stockport County.

The home side had just had a Kayden Jackson goal disallowed for offside when second-half substitute Simons broke the deadlock on the night with a composed first-time shot with nine minutes to go.

Leading 1-0 from the first leg, the visitors had the better of a largely uneventful first 45 minutes at Valley Parade before a triple change just after the hour-mark swung momentum in Bradford's favour.

Jack Bonham in the Bolton goal made a great stop to tip Max Power's 20-yarder on to the bar, Tyreik Wright saw a shot deflect wide, and Jackson briefly thought he had levelled the tie only for an offside flag to curtail his celebrations.

The away side almost immediately launched a rare foray forward down their left and former Chelsea man Simons showed class to finish from 15 yards.

Bolton will now face Greater Manchester rivals Stockport at Wembley on Sunday, 24 May.

Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Jack Bonham tips a shot from Bradford City's Max Power on to the barShutterstock

Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Jack Bonham made two crucial saves in the second half

Can Wanderers take final step?

Bolton's season will end in the League One play-off final for the second time in three seasons.

They suffered a tame 2-0 defeat by Oxford United in the final under Ian Evatt two years ago, but will hope for a better showing in 10 days as they look to end their seven-year wait for Championship football.

Steven Schumacher's men kept Bradford from registering a shot on target across both legs of the tie until Power's excellent effort was kept out by Bonham's great stop with 22 minutes to play.

The Bantams pushed on in search of an equaliser and thought they had one when Jackson bundled in after Bonham's reaction save from Nick Powell's header.

The assistant's flag meant any joy was short-lived and worse was to follow moments later.

John McAtee played fellow substitute Thierry Gale down the inside left channel and, despite a heavy touch, he cut the ball back and Simons confidently dispatched the loose ball after the home defence failed to clear.

There was still 10 minutes to go and Graham Alexander's men continued to push for a goal but Bonham was not forced into any meaningful work as Bolton held out.

Bantams beaten but unbowed

It proved to be a step too far for Bradford but this was still been an excellent first season back at this level after six years in League Two.

The Bantams, looking to win successive promotions for the first time in their history, spent almost the entire campaign in the play-off places and ended it two points and one place above Bolton in fourth.

Ultimately, they just could not put the Bolton goal under enough sustained pressure across the two ties, albeit Wanderers' winning goal in the second leg came against the run of play.

At the end of the match, the vocal home fans showed their appreciation for the team's highest league finish since they were relegated from the second tier in the 2003-04 season.

Graham Alexander will now look to use this experience to push on again next term.

'The reaction was something special'

Bradford City boss Graham Alexander told BBC Radio Leeds:

"It's really strange because the pain of defeat is pretty raw but the pride in my players and the club - and you see that at the end of the game.

"I told the players, I have been in the game 40 years and I have never seen a reaction to a defeat like that [from the supporters], that was something special.

"I'm gutted for everybody. The players were immense, certainly in the second half.

"In the first half, we tried to put pressure on Bolton, and they're a good team, but we couldn't find those clear-cut opportunities.

"But second half we were excellent and put so much pressure on them, and I just thought it was a matter of time before we scored.

"And we do score, it's ruled offside and they go up the other end and nick a goal. Fair play to Bolton, four teams in the play-offs and they've all had fantastic seasons.

"We've had tough games against Bolton and they've got the edge on us results-wise but if you're going to lose, lose like that, and I'm so proud of everybody."

Alexander: 'I'm so proud of everybody'

'You need your goalkeeper in big games like this'

Bolton Wanderers boss Steven Schumacher told BBC Radio Manchester:

"I couldn't think of anyone better to score that goal to take us to Wembley. It has been tough for Xav this season. He has found himself out of the starting XI, sometimes out of matchday squads, but he is a model pro.

"It wasn't an easy game. We knew it was going to be difficult coming here, the intensity that was going to be around the game, the crowd, the atmosphere.

"I thought we played OK in the first half. I felt we were slightly on top, but in the second half we didn't pass the ball well enough. We didn't have any control in the game. Every time we did turn the ball over, we gave it away, and they put us under loads of pressure.

"We needed Jack to make a couple of brilliant saves, which he did, but you need your goalkeeper in big games like this.

"I'm so pleased, and for us to get the second goal after they had one disallowed was a killer blow for them and we saw the game out well.

"I was trying my best to stay as calm as possible and try and help the players through in what was a tough game but it's not easy. It was hard trying to get information out, it was so loud.

"I'm just glad that we've kept another clean sheet. To keep two clean sheets against Bradford in the play-offs is really good. It took a whole team effort for that and it's got us to Wembley."

Schumacher: 'It took a team effort'

Player of the match

X. Simons
8.00
32 G. Lapslie
5.92
22 N. Powell
5.88
4 J. Wright
5.84
23 B. Pointon
5.73
1 S. Walker
5.71
17 T. Wright
5.69
21 J. Metcalfe
5.67
11 S. Humphrys
5.67
10 A. Sarcevic
5.63
3 I. Touray
5.59
7 J. Neufville
5.57
6 M. Power
5.45
19 K. Jackson
5.30
15 A. Baldwin
5.17
26 C. Tilt
5.13
24 W. Swan
4.00
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