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It's dreamland for us' Cup triumph over United has all of Grimsby glowing
The Guardian
|August 29, 2025
"I felt like I was dreaming, honestly," said Wayne Brightmore, 49, after watching Grimsby Town, the football club he has supported since he was a boy, pull off a historic win by beating one of the biggest teams in the world.
"Seeing us beat Manchester United at Blundell Park didn't feel real," Wayne said. "It's dreamland for us. We couldn't have imagined anything better."
For Brightmore, who is the acting chair of the Mariners Trust, the club's supporters group, and the other 9,000 fans who filled Blundell Park, the second round Carabao Cup tie result - a 12-11 win on penalties after drawing 2-2 during normal time - represented a peak for their football club that won't be equalled for some time.
"The pride in the town right now is immense. To knock someone of Man United's stature out of the cup is something we couldn't have imagined.
"It's as big as it's gotten for me as a supporter," said Brightmore, who lived behind the ground as a boy and watched matches through his window growing up.
Last night was the best day of his life. "I said to my mate before, and I meant it, if that was the last match I ever watched and I died tomorrow, I could die a very happy man."
This story is from the August 29, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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