Defender Shaun Brisley reflects on the success at Wembley back in 2014 and the signifcant part he played in the win.
After going 71 games without a goal, Shaun Brisley was beginning to wonder if he would ever find the net for Peterborough United. Of course, as a centre back, scoring at the other end is not a pre-requisite, but with excellent delivery into the box from set-pieces at that time in the club’s history through midfielders Grant McCann, Tommy Rowe and Danny Swanson, his height and aerial power, by his own admission, should have yielded more goals.
So where did Brisley eventually break his duck? Only Wembley Stadium. Yes, that is right, Brisley’s first goal for the club came in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final back in 2014 and when he reflects on that moment, he also tips his hat to team-mate Mark Little, who not only had a premonition in the hotel room the night before, but also kept his promise of recreating a Wrestling move made famous by Edge in the celebrations.
And that goal from Brisley ultimately gave Posh the edge in the final against Chesterfield. Josh McQuoid had already given Darren Ferguson’s men the advantage inside the opening 10 minutes, but it was Brisley’s header on 38 minutes, that ultimately proved key.
“I had gone so long without scoring and we had such good delivery into the box back then. I remember a fan telling me there was a YouTube video of all the goals I had scored that had been disallowed. I think I had goals that were disallowed for fouls that didn’t even concern me, I had hit the woodwork, I was beginning to think it was never going to happen for me, so to then score at Wembley was a brilliant feeling and a moment that I won’t ever forget.
“I roomed with Mark Little the night before and he said to me ‘you are going to score tomorrow’ and he said it with such certainty. “And when you do score, I am going to run over and spear you in the celebrations’ and do you know what, Mark can predict the future and he kept his promise. He was probably the first player to get near me after I ran off in a random direction and I was soon on the floor because of him!
“It is mad that it was 10-years ago, but time flies, particularly in football. When I look back at that game, I think we faced quite a few challenges because Chesterfield were a really good side, they had a lot of talented players and they caused us problems, but we scored all of our goals from set-pieces if I recall and we had worked on that a lot.
“When Joe (Newell) got sent-off it became a long afternoon, but we go the job done and it was a really special day. There are not many players that will be able to say they scored at Wembley and lifted a trophy, but that is one thing that I can always tell people,” Brisley said.
Like many budding footballers, Brisley was an avid watcher of the FA Cup final at Wembley and dreamed about going up the steps to collect a trophy. “I used to watch all of the cup finals and you do dream about doing it one day, so when it happens you are just in that moment, in the zone and try and enjoy it as much as you can.
“We enjoyed the moment, we enjoyed the celebrations, but we couldn’t let those celebrations go on too long because we had a league game a few days later. When I look back now, it was a wonderful achievement for everyone connected with the football club. The fans had a great day out at Wembley and when you get to Wembley, the focus is on making sure you leave there a winner.
“It is amazing that ten years on, the club are back for the final again and I will be watching, hoping they can do it again. I am sure they can. The players just need to go out there and enjoy the occasion, play their game and I am sure they will come away with what we did back then, some unbelievable memories,” Brisley said.
The centre back is still playing, part-time with Alfreton Town and is currently training to join the Plumbing trade after a spell at Wrexham. “I got injured at Wrexham quite early on, I think it was in pre-season and that set me back a bit and I couldn’t get back in and I made a decision then, that I thought going part-time was the way forward because it would allow me to focus on training to be a Plumber and work in the gas industry. I am still enjoying playing though, it just gives me the right balance.”
You can watch the full interview with Brisley on Posh+.
