CHRIS McPhee had a memorable end to the first half of Saturday's FA Trophy final at Wembley on Saturday.
The Ebbsfleet star stepped up to take a 41st minute penalty, but saw his effort saved by Torquay keeper Martin Rice in non-league football's showcase event.
However, the 25-year-old redeemed himself just minutes later with the goal which proved to be the winner and handed the Fleet their first ever FA Trophy.
He said: "When I missed the penalty, I instantly thought I've let the team down.
"But the boys came up to me and said you've done your best, just get on with the game.
"Fortunately for me, four minutes later another chance has come along and I didn't miss that one."
advertisement
And cup final nerves meant it took a huge amount of energy for McPhee to arrive in the area to tap in John Akinde's cross.
He added: "The occasion was immense and it made my legs feel heavier than usual.
"But the adrenaline was pumping and I knew I couldn't give up, so I managed to get there to score.
"Scoring at Wembley is the biggest thing I've ever achieved in football.
"When I have grandchildren, I can say to them that I've scored at Wembley in a cup final."
And the Wembley hero paid tribute to the fans for their part in both his and Ebbsfleet's success.
He said: "When we play at home we barely get 1,500 fans.
"So when we jogged out there today in front of 25,000 fans screaming and shouting our names and giving us all the support they can give, it was a huge boost and made a difference during the 90 minutes."
McPhee believes his winning goal can be the first step to future success for both himself and the Fleet.
He said: "Hopefully this achievement can be the kick-start to go even further.
"We have young players, experience and a lot of ability.
"If we continue to nurture the young players along, we'll achieve things and we can be a Football League club."
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
