Non-League Fax: My Favourite Goal
As a Non-League fan, one of my favourite goals has to be the Roger Johnson own goal deep into injury-time which levelled things up at 1-1 as Brackley went on to beat Bromley on penalties in the 2018 FA Trophy. This equaliser was so special because Bromley, the favourites from the National League, thought they had won the trophy with Omar Bugiel's 19th-minute strike.
For 94 minutes, it looked as if Brackley Town’s first appearance at Wembley in their 128 year history would wind up as an occasion that would haunt them for a very long time. It would have been impossible for them not to dwell on the improbable number of chances they missed while chasing an equaliser during the second half of a wild FA Trophy final. They hit the post, shanked wide from close range, had a shot cleared off the line and were denied on several occasions by Bromley’s goalkeeper, David Gregory. But they refused to stop.
With seconds remaining in the fifth minute of stoppage time the club from a small market town in Northamptonshire, and a division below Bromley, drew level at last, as a long-range shot by Matt Lowe struck the post and rebounded into the net off the former professional defender Roger Johnson. A tense period of extra-time ensued, followed by an even tenser penalty shootout, which had a couple of twists and went to sudden death before Andy Brown, a deputy headmaster by day, struck the decisive blow for Brackley. That triggered scenes of joy at Wembley that will live long in Northamptonshire folklore.
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