You've just got to find a way '“ ex-Huddersfield Town captain Clarke

PETER CLARKE will never forget the events of May 26, 2012. Huddersfield Town’s most recent Wembley-winning captain left the pitch on a baking-hot day, clutching both the League One play-off final trophy and the man-of-the-match accolade grinning from ear to ear.

It belied the tension of the previous few hours when the nerves were palpable in a goalless all-Yorkshire final with Sheffield United before Town held their nerve in a dramatic penalty shoot-out after an eminently forgettable 120 minutes.

In play-off finals style comes a distinct second to substance as the events of that day proved. For Clarke, who showed real fortitude to score from the spot after Town had missed their first three penalties, it is all about finding a way to succeed.

He said: “Performances are not important in this games. Any player, supporter and manager would take playing poorly and not playing to the maximum if their team won. On Monday, if you were offered a fantastic performance or a result, you would take the result, hands down.

“These games are intense. It is about not wanting to make mistakes.”

On his memories of five years ago, he added: “As a young boy, you always want to play in a cup final and to play in a cup final at Wembley and win and lift a trophy is realising a boyhood dream.”