Event 2015–16 FA Trophy Man of the Match Nicky Wroe | Date 22 May 2016 Referee Lee Mason (Lancashire) | |
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Venue Wembley Stadium, London Attendance 46,781 (including FA Vase Final) | ||
The 2015–16 FA Trophy Final was the 47th final of the Football Association's cup competition for levels 5–8 of the English football league system. The match was contested by Halifax Town and Grimsby Town. Grimsby Town were beaten finalists in 2013, but it was Halifax Town's first final and their first visit to Wembley Stadium in 105 years. For the first time the final of the FA Vase was played on the same day at the same venue, contested by Hereford and Morpeth Town. Both matches were televised in the UK on BT Sport.
Halifax Town defeated Tamworth, Barrow, Chester, Gateshead and Nantwich Town en route to the final.
Grimsby Town defeated Solihull Moors, Weston-super-Mare, Havant & Waterlooville, Woking, and Bognor Regis Town en route to the final.
Halifax Town won the match 1–0 thanks to a goal from Scott McManus after 48 minutes.
Club backgrounds
Halifax Town had been embroiled in a relegation battle in the National League all season. A good run in the league coincided with the start of their FA Trophy campaign as they put together some impressive results. They defeated National League North side Tamworth 5–0 in the 1st Round, who had only lost two games all season prior to that. They then went on the defeat divisional rivals Barrow and Chester before being paired with Gateshead in the quarter-final, a side managed by ex-Halifax boss of 6 years Neil Aspin. The original tie ended in a boring 0–0 but the replay was far more dramatic as Halifax were 2–1 down equalised in the 92nd minute to take it to extra time. It finished 3–3 after extra time and the penalty shoot-out was won by Halifax. In the two-legged semi-final Halifax faced Nantwich Town who were two leagues below Halifax in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Halifax grabbed the initiative in the first leg at the Weaver Stadium and took a 4–2 lead into the home tie. An early goal in the second leg at the Shay settled fans' nerves but a resilient Nantwich side fought back to take a 2–1 lead on the day and reduce the aggregate score to 5–4. The second half was on a knife-edge but an unfortunate own goal late on confirmed Halifax's place in the Final.
Halifax ended their domestic season being relegated to the National League North on the final day only two years after having made the play-offs. This was Halifax Town's first FA Trophy Final; the furthest they had reached in the competition was the quarter-final in 2014–15, 2012–13 and 2007–08. It was also Halifax Town's first ever visit to Wembley, both old and new, in 105 years.
Grimsby Town had been in the National League play-offs for the majority of the season. The FA Trophy was very much the least of their worries as they fought to return to the Football League. Grimsby's run in the Trophy was favourable as they faced lower league opposition in every round except the quarter-final, although they did face a tricky tie in eventual National League North champions Solihull Moors in the 1st Round, as Grimsby won the replay 3–2. Home ties against National League South opposition Weston-super-Mare and Havant & Waterlooville followed as the Mariners comfortably won them both. A tricky test in the quarter-final against National League rivals Woking was next but Grimsby again won comfortably to set up a semi-final against Bognor Regis Town of the Isthmian League Premier Division. Grimsby edged the first leg at Nyewood Lane 1–0 and managed to sneak a 2–1 win at Blundell Park to book their place in the Final.
Grimsby finished their season by winning in the National League play-offs in their fourth consecutive season of competing in them to earn a place back in the Football League after 6 years away. The FA Trophy Final was Grimsby's third visit to Wembley in little over a year following their defeat in the play-off final in 2015 against Bristol Rovers and the aforementioned play-off final victory over Forest Green Rovers just one week earlier. Grimsby had reached the FA Trophy Final once before in 2013, losing to Wrexham on penalties.
Halifax and Grimsby had met in the league twice and the first fixture saw Grimsby inflict a 7–0 defeat on a depleted Halifax at Blundell Park, their biggest defeat as FC Halifax Town. The return fixture was quite the opposite however as a rejuvenated Halifax side defeated Grimsby 4–2 at the Shay; Halifax were 3–0 up inside half an hour. Following Halifax's relegation and Grimsby's promotion the match was effectively a League Two side against a National League North side and possibly it was Grimsby's swansong to non-League football.