Gair Rhydd

When my club Exeter City finally reached the Conference play-off semi finals last week, I gambled precious coursework time so I could see both legs against Oxford United.

The first leg at Exeter’s St James Park ended in an Oxford win, thanks to an own goal, and so the 1,200 die-hard Exeter support made the trip in hope more than expectation. Things would go from bad to worse when we found ourselves two goals down on aggregate within half an hour. The fans and players were seemingly heading for another long summer of disappointment.

Then it happened, the 100 minutes that proved just how unique and unpredictable football is. It felt like it would be another season of disappointment and heartache for a team without a promotion in 17 long years.

But instead we witnessed a brilliant performance that culminated in two Exeter goals, which forced the game into extra-time and sent the travelling support over the moon.

As extra-time progressed, it began to loom on the horizon, the dreaded P word – penalties: every Englishman’s worst nightmare. The inevitable shoot-out after the agonising preceding 120 minutes. It all boils down to those five or, as in Tuesday’s case, six penalties that separate elation from misery. Throughout the Liverpool vs. Chelsea semi-final, Clive Tyldesley was reminding the viewing public that no-one wanted penalties. Who is he kidding? The neutral loves nothing more than the high drama of a shoot-out, but for the partisan fans it is agony.

And so it begins, the wolf whistles are whistled and fans around you cover their eyes, unable to bear it, as the penalties head to sudden death. Oxford’s sixth penalty was saved, and so it all came down to our right back, Steve Tully, to make Exeter City history. Seasons of near misses, disappointment and negativity could be forgotten with that simple task of rolling a ball in from 12 yards.

Two seconds later, as that winning penalty hit the back of the net, delirium ensued. Fans went crazy in the aisles, grown men were in tears and as the squad sprinted to dance and sing along with their loyal following, no one could quite believe it.

The fact that Tuesday night was my first experience of a penalty shoot-out in ten years of being an Exeter City fan tells you a great deal about the club’s recent success, or lack of it. The club had never visited those twin towers of Wembley in its previous 103 years of existence.

This is what being a football fan is all about – putting up with the dire goalless draws with Forest Green and York and those last minutes defeats to Canvey Island and Stafford Rangers, for that one moment of unparalleled delight. A feeling of pride and pure delight which everyone present will savour and treasure for years to come.

It was not just the fans savouring the unforgettable moment, as the players’ celebrations finally headed to the dressing room after singing and dancing with their delighted fans. One Exeter player stood completely still and just stared up at the proud away faithful – he was just savouring the moment.

So, if you get the chance in the coming weeks to go and see your local team in the play offs, rest assured that the endless agony and disappointment will all be worth it, just for that one moment.