Hero goalkeeper dedicates Heed’s cup win to late grandfather

GATESHEAD goalkeeper James Montgomery dedicated the club’s FA Trophy final win against Solihull Moors to his late grandfather after his penalty shootout heroics.

Montgomery saved a penalty in the shoot-out and saw three other Moors attempts missed before Dejaune Brown converted the winning spot-kick, avenging their defeat in last year’s final.

“There’s so much emotion, for the club to be the first to ever [win the FA Trophy],” explained the experience stopper.

“The FA Trophy means quite a lot to me, my grandad passed away last year and his last game was the semifinal against Barnet [in April 2023],” Montgomery said.

“Today he was with me throughout the game, I felt like I was doing it for him. I’m so emotional, but so happy at the same time.”

Gateshead were backed by thousands of travelling fans who kept the faith despite the club being excluded from the National League playoffs due to tenancy issues with the International Stadium.

There were special scenes in the aftermath of the trophy celebrations as the Heed squad and staff basked in the glory of their historic triumph alongside those who had made the long journey from the North East – and their dedication was not lost on Montgomery.

“Thank you [to the fans]. With everything that has gone on in the last couple of weeks they could have stopped following us, but they stuck with us,” Montgomery said.

“One thing we pride ourselves on as a team is that we are all about the community. We don’t have the resources other clubs have, we have a great bunch of lads.