Millington "delighted" after Shaymen seal their place in FA Trophy final at Wembley

Milli Alli's last-gasp equaliser forced the game to penalties against Altrincham, which Halifax won 3-2.

"I know it'll be a terribly, terribly bitter pill for Altrincham to swallow but it does feel like some kind of payback for all the misery and the adversity that we've had to deal with this season," Millington said.

"I'm delighted for everyone behind-the-scenes at the club, for the fans, especially the away fans who travel up and down the country and are so committed and so supportive.

"For the staff, who've maintained a level head through the most difficult of times and continue to work impeccably to try and get us into a better position.

"And for the players, who've stayed on board and stayed committed throughout all the turbulence.

"It just feels like although Altrincham deserved to win that match, we've finally had that bit of lady luck that's deserted us for so long this season."

When asked what reaching Wembley means for the club, he said: "It's history for the club, it's another opportunity to make history.

"It's something for the fans to really celebrate and get behind.

"We've got a lot of football to play before that, an awful lot of time to go and there's an incredible amount of work we've got to do yet.

"But I hope the fans see it as some reward for them.

"All the fans should enjoy this moment and should take some enjoyment out of it but I do focus a lot on those, and they know who they are, who travel up and down the country and their support has been absolutely unconditional.

"So it's got to be seen as some reward for them and for the staff and the players, it's something memorable, something that, win or lose, will live with them for the rest of their life and we'll do everything we can to win that game."

Millington admitted his side were lucky to get through.

"First-half we were awful, we didn't get going," he said.

"Even if we had, they probably would have played better than us first-half because they were so good first-half.

"But we weren't anywhere near at it, there wasn't enough commitment to try and win the ball back and when we did, they were stepping in-front of us and nicking it back off us, so we didn't settle on it for any significant period of time.

"It was a horrendous first-half of football, we were lucky to go in 1-0 down.

"That was partially down to luck and partially down to some really good defending and goalkeeping, last-ditch blocks, particularly by Angelo Capello.

"We were aware we'd dodged a bullet going in 1-0 down at half-time.

"Second-half I think we were probably the better team, but Altrincham had the better chances because they hit us on the counter-attack a few times.

"But we had to gamble, we had to send men forward, we had to take more chances to try and get something out of the game.

"We knew we were always at risk of getting sucker-punched and going 2-0 down but again, through some really good goalkeeping and some fantastic last-ditch defending, we managed to keep the score to 1-0.

"For how poor Milli Alli was throughout the game, and he was poor today, you know he's got one of them in him.

"And they knew that he had one of them in him because you could see them doubling up, sometimes three players around him when he picked the ball up, trying to nullify him because he can create something out of nothing.

"When you score that late on in a cup-tie, when you've not played well, you start to wonder whether it's just your year and your time."

Millington insists he never stopped believing that Town could get back into the game.

"I didn't actually no," he said.

"A close friend of mine had told me a story about last-minute goals just last night, and I had that ringing round my head, right up to the goal.

"For some bizarre reason I just believed there was going to be a twist.

"I'm just delighted that there was."

On what he said to his players before the penalty shoot-out, Millington said: "It was just about retaining your coolness, retaining your calmness, make the decision now about where you're putting that ball and stick to it.

"And make sure you commit to what it is you're going to do and if you're committed to striking it in a certain way in a certain area, then we believe we'll score more than we miss.

"And of course we've got Sam Johnson in net who, there's no words is there, he's such a difficult keeper to beat in those situations.

"I feel for Tyrese Sinclair, who's a player I know very well, he's come on and not had a kick of the ball and his first touch is to take a penalty, I have great sympathy with him."

And of the post-match celebrations in the Town dressing room, Millington said: "Amazing. The atmosphere was electric, celebratory, it was wonderful.

"These lads continue to turn up and put themselves out there week after week, even when they've fallen short the week before or there's been unfair criticism or individuals have been picked out and criticised.

"They continue to turn up and try harder to put it right. That's not an easy thing to do for young lads, there's many out there who would have packed in long ago.

"But these lads have just kept going and that atmosphere in the changing room is only a little bit of the reward they deserve for their perseverance."