Kitching sinks Bolton to book trip to Wembley for Barnsley

A corner of northwest London will experience a South Yorkshire takeover on Bank Holiday Monday after Barnsley moved to within a game of making an immediate return to the Sky Bet Championship.

Michael Duff asked for a Manchester City-like performance from his side after admitting to being in awe of Pep Guardiola’s men from his seat at the Champions League dismantling of Real Madrid this week.

Barnsley were not quite in that league, but an utterly disciplined defensive display helped them withstand a second-half onslaught from Bolton to protect a first-half advantage provided by Liam Kitching’s fifth goal of the season.

Sheffield Wednesday’s semi-final comeback against Peterborough already has its place in football folklore, but their neighbours’ berth at Wembley was secured in less dramatic,