Wembley glory for the Shrimpers: Collin saves, Gus seals the FA Trophy

WE HAVE ACTUALLY DONE IT! After all those trips, all the nerves, all the occasions when Southend United have left Wembley with nothing but a heavy heart, this time there is a trophy coming home with us. I do not care that it took penalties. I do not care that the football was hardly a classic. We went to Wembley to win the FA Trophy, and we won it.

Southend United 0, Wealdstone 0 after 90 minutes. Southend win 4–2 on penalties. Two magnificent saves from Collin Andeng-Ndi, and then Gus Scott-Morriss stepping forward to finish the job. Just writing that down brings the feeling back. Finally, we get to remember the end of a Wembley afternoon with a smile.

Let us get the honest bit out of the way first: for long spells this was a frustrating, untidy final, and both teams had chances they will wish they had taken. Wealdstone were no passengers. They were organised, brave and quite capable of winning it themselves. But we can examine the performance properly and still allow ourselves to enjoy something this club and its supporters have waited a long time to celebrate.

So nearly the start we had dreamed of

We arrived determined not to repeat the mistakes of the play-off defeat at Scunthorpe, when a fifth-minute goal had turned our evening upside down. Six minutes into this final, Harry Cardwell almost gave us exactly the opposite feeling. He worked his way into a shooting position and struck the foot of the post. For a split second I thought that was it: the perfect start, the nerves lifted, Wembley roaring.

Instead, the ball stayed out. That was the first warning that this was going to be one of those afternoons.

There were other encouraging early moments. Jack Bridge won a free-kick, although Oli Coker’s delivery went too long. James Golding stepped out of defence with the sort of confidence I love to see, drove forward and dragged his effort wide. We looked as if there might be something there if we could keep moving the ball and attacking with purpose.

But finals rarely unfold as neatly as supporters would like. Wealdstone began to settle. Their midfield got a foothold, their defenders were not allowing Cardwell or Andy Dallas an easy afternoon, and the space we had found early on became harder to come by. There was a danger that the match would become a succession of promising movements that ended with a loose touch or a hopeful delivery.

Collin makes sure we reach half-time level

Wealdstone had their own moments of real threat. A corner needed urgent attention from Andeng-Ndi, Nathan Tshikuna worked his way into a shooting position and Micah Obiero looked for the kind of curling finish we had seen him produce against us in the league. He did not find the target on that occasion, but nobody in Southend colours could afford to switch off.

Leon Chambers-Parillon tried to make something happen near the end of the half, only for his effort to fly over. He had the energy to worry defenders, but the final pass and the final touch were proving elusive across the pitch.

Then, right on the stroke of half-time, Collin produced the save that might easily be forgotten because of what he did later. Stretching towards his right-hand post, he got a hand to a dangerous effort and pushed it away. It was an outstanding piece of goalkeeping at an important moment. Without it, the whole mood at the interval could have been different.

Half-time: 0–0. The scoresheet was blank, the nerves were not. I wanted to see us come out with more control and force Wealdstone backwards. Instead, the second half would find another way to test everybody’s patience.

A final that would not settle down

Wealdstone emerged with plenty of belief. They moved the ball sharply at times and forced Southend to defend properly. James Golding had to make a timely intervention when Dylan Kadji and Obiero combined in a dangerous area. That defensive work mattered just as much as any attacking move. We were not controlling the match, whatever the occasion or the league table might have suggested beforehand.

Maher made his first changes on the hour. Joe Gubbins replaced Ben Goodliffe and Keenan Appiah-Forson came on for Oli Coker. There was plenty of time left for someone to write their name into the afternoon, but the more the clock ticked, the more I could feel the possibility of penalties creeping into the back of my mind.

Bridge almost provided the moment we wanted with around 20 minutes remaining, getting into a position where he might have slipped the ball past Dante Baptiste. The Wealdstone goalkeeper was quick to come out and gather at his feet. It was the sort of opening you keep replaying afterwards, particularly when you have already hit the post.

Then Appiah-Forson sent a delivery towards the far side of the penalty area and it came down off the crossbar. Twice we had struck the woodwork at Wembley, and still neither side had scored. You start wondering how many chances a final is going to give you before it decides that the story must go somewhere else.

Charley Kendall came on for Cardwell, with Harry Boyes and Tom Hopper following later. I was pleased to see fresh options used, but it still felt as though we were trying to force a moment rather than building wave after wave of pressure. Wealdstone’s Deon Woodman and the rest of their defence deserve credit for making life awkward. At the other end they continued to break with purpose, and Collin was needed again late on to deny Jack Hinchy.

The temptation after winning a cup is to write that we dominated and justice was done. That would be nonsense. This was close, nervous and not particularly pretty. There were long periods when Southend could not keep the ball well enough, and occasions when Wealdstone looked the likelier side to find a goal. They earned their place in the final and played like a team that wanted the trophy every bit as much as we did.

No extra time. Five kicks between us and history.

At the end of 90 minutes, nothing separated the teams. The competition rules meant we went straight to a shoot-out. I do not know if there is any more helpless feeling in football than watching your own players walk from the halfway line towards the penalty spot. You can shout, you can hope, you can barely look. You cannot do a single thing to help.

Jack Bridge went first for Southend and scored. Good. A start. Then Olufela Olomola stepped up for Wealdstone, and Collin Andeng-Ndi went the right way to keep it out. I think that was the moment the mood really changed. Suddenly we had an advantage, and suddenly Wealdstone were the ones feeling the weight of every kick.

Joe Gubbins took our second and buried it with real conviction. It was one of the penalties of the shoot-out for me: no fuss, no hesitation, just the ball sent where it needed to go. Jack Hinchy walked up for Wealdstone and Collin saved again. TWO SAVES. In a Wembley final. By our goalkeeper.

At 2–0, it almost seemed too good to be true. Perhaps that is the Southend supporter in me, because I still could not relax. Charley Kendall’s effort was saved by Baptiste, and Obiero then scored for Wealdstone. The lead was still ours, but there was life in the contest. It was not over.

Harry Boyes had the nerve to convert our next penalty, sending Baptiste the wrong way. Connor McAvoy answered for Wealdstone. That left the score at 3–2 with one Southend kick to come. One kick to win a major national cup competition. One kick to leave all those other Wembley disappointments behind for the day.

Up steps Gus Scott-Morriss

Of all the people you might want standing over that penalty, Gus would be right near the top of my list. He has spent the season arriving in places where defenders do not expect a right-back to be, scoring goals that have felt anything but ordinary for his position. Now he had the biggest one of the lot in front of him.

He stepped up. He kept his nerve. He scored.

And that was it. Southend United had won the FA Trophy. The nerves went, the noise took over and all the frustration of an afternoon without a goal suddenly seemed a very long way away. Look at the players, look at the supporters, look at the trophy. This was our day.

My man of the match: Collin Andeng-Ndi

I have no hesitation with this one. Collin had already made an important save before half-time and stood up to Wealdstone’s late threat. Then he changed the shoot-out with his hands, twice. There were plenty of players who helped get us to Wembley, but when the final reached its defining moment, our goalkeeper was ready.

He has had difficult spells and his share of criticism. That is part of life for a goalkeeper, where one mistake can outweigh half a dozen good interventions in the conversation afterwards. Today he deserves every bit of praise going his way. If you are going to put your name on a cup final, two successive penalty saves is a fairly spectacular way to do it.

And credit to the penalty takers. Bridge set the tone, Gubbins took his with enormous confidence, Boyes held his nerve and Scott-Morriss finished the job. Kendall missed, but I hope nobody forgets that this was a squad achievement. One missed kick does not diminish the work that got us here or the trophy we have won together.

More than a medal

I keep coming back to what this means beyond the ninety minutes. There have been times in recent years when Southend supporters had bigger worries than whether a shot would hit the post or a referee would give a free-kick. We were worried about the very future of our club. The sight of Southend lifting a national trophy at Wembley would have seemed a distant dream in those days.

None of that magically fixes the disappointment of missing out on promotion. We still need to become a team capable of getting out of the National League. There will be difficult decisions, new seasons and plenty more arguments about football to come. But those conversations can wait a little while. We have won something worth celebrating. Let us actually celebrate it.

I also want to give Wealdstone their due. Losing a final on penalties is a rotten way to go, particularly after you have competed so well for 90 minutes. Their players and supporters will be hurting. They made us earn this, and that deserves respect.

Enjoy the celebrations. Keep the photos, keep the ticket, keep the memory of Gus walking towards that ball and Collin flying across his goal. Tonight we are not wondering what might have been. We are FA Trophy winners. Up the Shrimpers!

The shoot-out, kick by kick

Teams and match details

Referee: Farai Hallam. Attendance: 43,306. My man of the match: Collin Andeng-Ndi.