Player/manager Andy Morrell called his side’s win “unbelievable”,
and said he would “savour this for a long, long time.”
Unperturbed by weather conditions across the UK, more than
35,000 fans were present at the English national stadium to witness two of the
Blue Square Premier’s leading promotion contenders go head to head.
After a quiet first half, the second period sprung in to
life and Kevin Thornton’s 81st-minute penalty for the Dragons
cancelled out Andy Cook’s opener, before the north Walians eventually triumphed
on spot kicks.
A two-footed challenge from Grimsby’s Craig Disley on
Wrexham skipper Dean Keates threatened to see tempers boil over, but thankfully
both sets of players let their play do the talking.
Jay Harris avoided three challenges before firing over, and
scuffed another shot wide, while Grimsby’s Marcus Marshall went close with a
header.
Just after the break, Grimsby’s ‘keeper James McKeown slipped
as Morrell raced through but recovered to block the striker’s effort, and Danny
Wright somehow fired wide on the turn after Stephen Wright’s corner had fallen
to him.
Former Blackpool striker Brett Ormerod went close with a
header as Wrexham looked for the opener, but they were hit by a Mariners’
sucker punch. Joe Colbeck burst down the right in to the area and acutely found
Cook with a pull-back. His first shot was excellently saved by Chris Maxwell,
but the ball went straight back to him and he fired home after 70 minutes.
Wrexham created and missed a couple more chances, but they
got their reward when Keates was clumsily felled by Shaun Pearson in the area.
Thornton stepped up and sent McKeown the wrong way to equalise.
Wrexham continued to threaten in extra time but couldn’t force
a winner, with Danny Wright’s thunderous volley acrobatically tipped on to the
post by McKeown the closest they came.
The FA Trophy was to be decided on penalties for only the
second time in its history, and when Sam Hatton hit the post with Grimsby’s
first effort and Richard Brodie fired over, the momentum was well and truly
with the Welsh side.
Adrian Cieslewicz, Danny Wright, Chris Westwood and Johnny
Hunt all sent McKeown the wrong way to seal a memorable day for Wrexham at a
bitterly cold Wembley Stadium.
“I didn’t think we were going to do it, but we were
brilliant,” added Morrell. “We kept going and attacking, but their ‘keeper was
stopping everything. It’s just brilliant.”
Goalscorer Thornton dedicated the win to the fans, saying: “You’ll
never get days like this again in your career so you have to make the most of
them. Obviously we were the better team today but it’s just a horrible way to
win a Cup final.
“The fans have been amazing. For them to have a day out like
this is brilliant.”
Morrell echoed that sentiment, saying of the Supporters’
trust’s acquisition of the club in 2011: “It could have been completely
different if the fans hadn’t stood up and been counted. They have put a base
in, a foundation under the club that has meant the players get paid.
“There’s a stability there, and that allows us to go and do
our stuff.”
Wrexham’s win caps a remarkable 13 months for Welsh football
that has seen Cardiff City, Newport County, Swansea City and Wrexham all
compete in showpiece finals at Wembley.
Cardiff lost the Capital One Cup final on penalties to
Liverpool and Newport lost the FA Trophy final to York City last year, but
Swansea and Wrexham put the record straight with memorable victories over the
past month in the same two competitions that will live long in the memory.
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