James Phillips ‘close to tears’ after AFC Stoneham’s Wembley glory

Proud AFC Stoneham boss James Phillips admitted he was close to tears after leading his side to Wembley success.

Phillips’ side clinched the Isuzu FA Vase on penalties after a cagey goalless draw with Cockfosters under the arch.

And the Purps boss admitted that emotions got the better of him as he celebrated winning a fourth piece of silverware this season.

“It was more than I could have ever wished for,” he told The NLP. “I wish I could do it every day.

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Incredible feeling

“It was an incredible feeling walking out. I was very proud to walk out with the team and see all of our supporters, family and friends.

“It was a really special moment and it was hard not to tear up.

“Nerves are natural in a game like that I think. I’ve seen enough of these games to know what it’s going to be like.

“It’s very rare that one team dominates for 90 minutes.

“We didn’t think there would be a huge amount of chances in the game.”

No better feeling

He continued: “The best ones came off mistakes from both teams really but we were confident with our gameplan, we’ve done it before.

“We had a plan and we stuck to it, and always fancied ourselves to create some chances and we did, it’s just a shame we couldn’t quite take them and end it in 90.

“But if you can win on a penalty shootout, there’s no better feeling.”

Goalkeeper Callum Lee was the hero, saving from Adam ‘Angus’ Hastings to hand his side the initiative in the shootout.

Callum Laycock, Jake Thomson, Tom Annetts and Tyrrell Sampson were all on target and it was all over when Cockfosters full-back Junior Moses leant back and cleared the crossbar with his side’s fourth.

READ MORE: AFC Stoneham 0-0 Cockfosters (4-2 on pens): Purps prevail after Callum Lee’s shootout heroics