Pennant joyous after victory

By foxsports
Published

Pennant played his part in what was arguably the greatest performance in the Potters' history as they produced a thrilling display of attacking football to win this afternoon's semi-final at Wembley 5-0. The former Arsenal and Liverpool winger moved to the Britannia Stadium on loan from Real Zaragoza on transfer deadline day in August, converting that into a permanent deal at the end of last year. Pennant claimed afterwards his decision to join Stoke had been fully vindicated but admitted he never could have imagined such a crushing margin of victory today. "We might have dreamt of winning, but 5-0, I think the last time someone won with that score was... I don't even know," the 28-year-old said of what was the biggest semi-final mismatch for 72 years. "It's a massive day, it's a massive victory and it just shows how much the club's pushing forward and how much people have invested. "Everyone's chuffed to bits, the team, the fans. It's a great day for Stoke City Football Club. "Everyone behind the scenes have worked hard for us to get here. "People talk about our gameplay but to win 5-0 in a semi-final, we've got to be doing something right. "We can play football too. We're not as bad as people think." Indeed, Stoke completely belied their reputation for being a long-ball team, with Pennant and Matthew Etherington tormenting Bolton with some classic wing play. Etherington started the rout with a 20-yard blockbuster, the first of three goals in 19 minutes that had Bolton reeling. Pennant, who was hobbling after the game but insisted it was only a knock, said: "To get the early one and to get the second straight after, that was probably a kick in the teeth for Bolton. "Even then, it's not over. If they get one back, they're right back in it. "But we stuck to our gameplan and got the third as well." Next month's final against Manchester City will also be a first for Pennant, who suffered Champions League final heartache with Liverpool four years ago. "I've played in finals but I've never actually played in the FA Cup final," he said. "So it's going to be a great moment for me as well. "It's the first time Stoke have been in the FA Cup final so it's going to be a great moment for all of us."