‘The club has got a place in my heart’ - Two-time FA Trophy winner Sam Johnson ‘really happy’ at FC Halifax Town

Arguably the Shaymen’s hero throughout their 2023 FA Trophy journey, including two penalty saves in the dramatic shootout victory over Altrincham in the semi-final, Johnson had a relatively quiet day between the sticks in the final against a Gateshead side which lacked a cutting edge.

And the 1-0 win will be scribbled onto his CV along with the 2016 success, where Town beat an already-promoted Grimsby side by the same scoreline.

“It’s amazing,” Town’s number one said after the game. “It’s twice I've won it now and two clean sheets, you can’t really ask for much more. The game probably wasn’t the best and it was a bit of a lucky goal but nobody cares!”

Jamie Cooke stole the headlines with the only goal of the game, showing pure determination to close down Johnson’s opposite number, James Montogomery, with ball ricocheting into the net. Asked if Gateshead’s goalkeeper would struggle to get some sleep over the next few nights, Johnson said:

“He will probably find it difficult. They played some really good stuff. They play out from the back really well.

“But it’s part and parcel. It’s tough being a goalkeeper sometimes, especially when it happens on the biggest stage. I’m gutted for him.”

However, Town’s keeper, who started his journey at The Shay with a loan spell from Port Vale in 2015 before joining permanently in 2017, also admitted he would have been happy to have made a few errors as long as the club regained non-league’s most prestigious trophy. He said:

“As long as we lifted the trophy I would have been happy with a 5-4 win and all four goals my mistake. It was a quiet game, I made a couple of saves at the end, but the back five and the whole team defended ridiculously well to limit them.

“They had a lot of possession but that was the game plan - they can have the ball as much as they want but they’re not going to hurt us and we’ll take home the trophy.”

Does this 2023 triumph taste sweeter than 2016 for Johnson?

“Yes it does,” he replied, “because the club means a lot more to me now. I’ve been here for six, seven, eight seasons, I can’t really remember. The club has got a place in my heart. I am really happy.

“It was an unbelievable atmosphere. It was exceptionally loud. It was a massive day for the club. It has been a difficult season so it’s nice to put a smile on people’s faces. It is a day the fans are going to remember.”