Josh Coulson has praised the Leyton Orient side that were able to see off AFC Telford United in the FA Trophy semi-final to set up a Wembley date with AFC Fylde, saying it was a “deserved win”.

The defender headed the winner to give the O’s a 2-1 win on the day, while Macauley Bonne’s strike in the first leg meant they took a 3-1 victory on aggregate.

Speaking after the game, Coulson said: “It was very exciting. Everyone was saying that it [the goal] went in in slow motion but as soon as it left my head I knew it was going in.

“So I was already off, but everyone else was watching it go in. It was brilliant, there were some great scenes and it was a deserved win, especially with going down to 10 men quite early.

“It’s a great feeling and it’s what dreams are made of, going to Wembley.”

A red card for Matt Harrold after 25 minutes made the afternoon difficult for Orient who, after taking the lead, were pegged back by Ellis Deeney’s goal before half-time, but Coulson says that the message from Justin Edinburgh at the break helped them to settle any nerves and to regain control.

He said: “He just wanted us to be calm, to make our clearances better and put it in behind them, to make them work and keep a good shape.

“They had a few chances but they’re going to because they’ve got an extra man but overall he just wanted us to calm down, get our clearances right and take the pressure off us as much as we could.”

The introduction of James Brophy for Josh Koroma after 64 minutes sparked the O’s back into life after Telford started the second half on top.

The forward was at the centre of most of the visitors’ attacking play towards the end, teeing up Bonne after a mazy run and going close with an effort of his own, and Coulson spoke highly of the impact that he made.

He said: “When Brophy came on, I don’t think their defence would have liked that. We know what pace he’s got, and he can carry the ball up the pitch very quickly for us which is good.

“I think we’re more dangerous when we’re on the counter so if teams want to come at us, we’ve shown that we can counter well. I think that’s shown today and it’s got us the result.”

The game’s defining moment, though, was Coulson’s goal 12 minutes from time that restored the O’s two-goal advantage on aggregate to effectively seal the tie.

He said: “The keeper was nowhere so I thought if I just loop it in there then it’ll go in. I got good contact on it and that was it, I was off.

“The goal gave us a massive boost. All of a sudden you feel fresh again and ready to defend and I thought we saw the game out really well.”

The win sets up a meeting with National League playoff-chasers AFC Fylde at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, May 19 and Coulson expressed his delight at being able to play at the national stadium.

He said: “It means everything. As a footballer, that’s the pinnacle, you want to play at Wembley. You can’t explain it.

“It’s a great day out for the fans and I think they deserve it for what’s happened at the club over the last few years but we’ve got some business to do before that, so we’ll carry on with that first.”