By Matt Badcock
Bradley Quinton has a picture from 2011 of his son Bobby perched over the cup when Braintree Town won the Conference South.
On Sunday evening, the now Iron manager returned home with the National League South promotion final trophy, much to the delight of Bobby, now 7, and his brother Teddy, 6.
They did it the long way, with play-off away wins at Hemel Hempstead and Dartford before taking on Hampton & Richmond Borough.
After extra-time, the teams were locked at 1-1 – Braintree's Reece Grant had cancelled out Max Kretzschmar's opener – and penalties were needed.
Diaz Wright fired in the decisive kick to win the shoot-out 4-3 and immediately the emotion flowed out of Quinton.
“I've allowed one of the guys to put my post-match team-talk out – it was just the emotion of winning it as a player seven years ago,” Quinton says. “Bobby was there that day and I held him in the cup.
“On Sunday when I took it home, him and his younger brother, Teddy, said, ‘Wow! Is that ours? Can we keep it? Are we rich now?' I laughed, ‘No, we're not!'”
Family has been at the core of an emotional year for Quinton. Bobby needed heart surgery earlier at Great Ormond Street Hospital in the season after being rushed into hospital with a rapid heart rate where he was diagnosed with the condition Supraventricular Tachycardia.
Thankfully recovered now, Quinton had another scare following their play-off semi-final win against Dartford when dad – and biggest supporter – Les collapsed on the pitch during the celebrations.
Ice baths
Not that it was going to stop him from being at the Beveree with Quinton's mum, Rita, to share in the happy occasion.
When Quinton left Enfield last summer to return to the club where he holds legendary status from the three promotions in his playing days, he knew he had a big job.
They'd just slipped out of Non-League's top flight after six seasons and he wanted to lift the mood. When he was first reintroduced to the fans, he promised he'd get them in the play-offs.
“The chairman (Lee Harding) said it was about stability this year,” Quinton says. “The first thing I said to him and the fans was, ‘I'll get you back in the play-offs'. Some of them believed it, some were more, ‘OK'.”
(Bradley Quinton, far left, celebrates play-off success)
In came players from lower down the ladder keen to impress and make the most of their opportunity. While some moved on, the nucleus bonded together and made the most of the added extras like GPS trackers, ice baths, saunas and even Yoga sessions.
It all came together for an instant return.
“We did OK, we were top at one stage and had a little run before a bit of a bad run,” Quinton says. “We had to juggle the books a bit, we did that and then other clubs came in for some of our players and they wanted to go for a little bit extra money. We wished them well as well.
“But then we started to kick on around Christmas and after. We started to talk more closely together. We had more meals out together, a real close knit family uniting together, looking after each other and being open and honest. We seemed to get stronger and stronger.
“I really believed if we got in the play-offs we'd win it. The boys believed and we did it – albeit with two penalty shoot-outs along the way. But we were nine games unbeaten, eight of which we won, so it's a fantastic achievement. It's a credit to all the boys.”
Quinton hailed his management team for the work they put in and is pleased for the club he holds dear to his heart.
“It was the longest penalty shoot-out I've seen in my life,” Quinton says. “Every penalty seemed to go in in slow motion and someone was pressing stop halfway through. But the jubilation of winning, the hard work and the nerves these young boys have is a credit to them, their parents and their families. They've all had their ups and downs, but they're all about hard work and determination. These are the rewards. It's a magnificent achievement for this club in a short space of time.”
Memories
On Thursday night the team met up in London for a celebration and a game of darts in The Flight Club before a summer break ahead of next season's preparations.
No doubt the fans' favourite chant ‘We're just a pub team from Essex,' will be heard around the National League again. In their time at the top table they made a habit of upsetting so-called bigger clubs and, under Danny Cowley, reached the play-offs after a third-place finish.
Quinton has fond memories of playing in the division and is already licking his lips at going up against some of Non-League's biggest hitters.
“We're so looking forward to the new season,” Quinton said. “Wrexham, what a massive club that is, Leyton Orient, Barnet coming down, Salford. I'm really going to cherish it.
“These are the moments you want to be part of.”
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper which is available every Sunday and Monday
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