JAMIE FULFILS HIS WEMBLEY DREAM

CLUTCHING the FA Vase, Ascot United manager Jamie Tompkins wore a smile as wide as the Wembley arch.

- Matt Badcock

His post-match interview with talkSPORT had been gatecrashed by a group of his heroic players before he stopped with The NLP to reflect on an historic day for the Yellamen.

“It’s a really proud moment,” Tompkins told The NLP. “These moments are what your dream of as a young boy, being a football, a coach or manager and leading your team out. To see that team lift the trophy at the end, unbelievable, what a feeling.

“We’ve covered a lot of miles this year. We’ve been all over the country. Up to Manchester, the Isle of Wight, Devon. These trips bring the players closer together, they bond a lot more and the end result is working a lot harder for each other.

“And that’s what football is about, right? Doing the basics really well, work hard and the quality will takeover.”

Winning big competitions like this often see the last few miles as the hardest. It was an even contest, holders Newport Pagnell Town going within inches through Jake Watkinson, Ascot sub Marcus Mealing going even closer after his introduction by hitting the woodwork.