WE WERE MADE UP OF WINNERS

WITH A little more than 15 minutes to go of the 2015 FA Trophy final, everything was going as expected.

- By Matt Badcock

Wrexham’s Andy Morrell Harris had put the Welsh side two goals ahead just before the hour to add to Louis Moult’s early opener.

For North Ferriby United representing a small village on the bank of the Humber Estuary – it had been a brave effort at the end of an epic run that had taken them all the way to Wembley’s big stage.

But this Conference North side, moulded by boss Billy Heath and trusty assistant Mark ‘Bobby’ Carroll was built differently.

Underestimated too. They’d already won the NPL title and finished second in the Conference North before eventually reaching Step 1 together in 2016.

“They were great characters but the outlying factor of that team is they were relentless for success,” Heath tells The NLP.

“The desire and commitment to each other, the team – we just had real winners. The appetite to win was ferocious. We had real good experience, good characters, desperate players. But they were desperate to win every game.

“If things weren’t going right, they’d be quite prepared to fall out with each other. Nasthan Jarman and Danny Hone used to travel in a car together. They were big mates. We’d be pulling them apart in training sessions because they wanted to win that much.

“We would actually put them on the same side – and they’d still want to fight each other. You couldn’t win with the pair of them.

“But that was the mentality the whole group had. Great guys off the pitch, would do anything for anybody, but on the pitch they had that real edge to them and that’s what you need if you’re going to win things.”