FA Trophy: FC Halifax Town 1 Grimsby Town 0 - Shaymen ease relegation heartache with fantastic Wembley triumph

WINNERS: Halifax fans John Gaukroger and Suzanne Hudson
on Wembley Way .
Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe. — WINNERS: Halifax fans John Gaukroger and Suzanne Hudson on Wembley Way . Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe.

A stunning goal from Scott McManus was enough to seal a memorable day out for the 10,000-plus fans at Wembley.

Town fans will have felt like kids on Christmas Day on the morning of the game, and got the best present imaginable just after half-time when McManus curled the ball into the roof of the net from 25 yards.

It was a moment no Shaymen fan inside Wembley will forget, and one that bestows hero status on McManus, and probably means he’ll never have to buy another pint in Halifax ever again.

Halifax fans on Wembley Way. Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe

The fact that Town defeated a League Two team might have led some to question how they’d ended up in the Conference North, but the pain of that relegation was at least eased by victory here.

In the end it was a magnificent shot by McManus that settled the tie three minutes after the restart following Richard Tait’s poor clearance.

It sent the Town fans into ecstasy behind the goal - a moment that will go down in Town folklore and was not a bad way to celebrate a new two-year contract.