Liam Hughes of Cambridge United battles with Phil Turnbull of Gateshead. Photograph: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images Photograph: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images
Liam Hughes of Cambridge United battles with Phil Turnbull of Gateshead. Photograph: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images Photograph: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images
Cambridge really struggled in the first half, but they were clinical in the second, and held off a late Gateshead fightback to secure their return to the Football League. They'll hope that this is the start of a long-term return - since the first playoff final in 2003, only two winners have returned to the Conference.
All the Cambridge players are sharing the moment with Ian Miller, who has returned to the field in a wheelchair, his leg in plaster. He's taken onto the field, and lifts the trophy to a mighty roar. That's a nice place to leave things. Here's Alistair, our man at Wembley, to close:
Every time I emailed you we scored - decided not to get greedy in the end, which is more than can be said for Wembley's food and drink price list.
Still, a great day. Finally.
Happy to help, Alistair. Thanks to everyone for joining me. Bye!
Ryan Donaldson, a born and bred Geordie who was at Gateshead last season, is now being interviewed. He looks more than a little emotional. On his feelings at the final whistle - "it's a moment you'll never forget for the rest of your life". The players are now making their way up the Wembley steps to collect a nice shiny pot, presumably with their Football League gold card safely stored inside.
Clem is straight in like a nosy neighbour, sidling up to Richard Money and asking how he feels. "It hasn't really sunk in yet" is the reply - fair, given that the whistle has just blown. The Cambridge boss adds "I don't think anyone can deny that we deserve this". Given that they finished 2nd, and won the FA Trophy, that's fair enough. Well done, Cambridge.
They had to cling on for grim death in a frantic final twenty minutes, but goals from Liam Hughes and Ryan Donaldson proved enough. Cambridge return to the Football League after nine years away. Now that's a nine-year drought!
99 mins: James Curtis gets his chance - but he flicks it just wide! From another deep cross from Baxter, the man who has played in four divisions over ten years from Gateshead gets above two defenders, but can't find the corner when he probably should have. It's a cruel game sometimes.
96 mins: Magnay wafts another long, diagonal cross which drifts out for a goal kick. Centre-back James Curtis is going up front for Gateshead - he postponed his wedding to play today. *checks script* But of course...
95 mins: After a Baxter cross is cleared, Oster squares to Turnbull, but his shot is blocked. Moments later, another Oster cross from the left finds Hatch, who gets above the defender, but nods wide! My giddy aunt.
93 mins: Miller is now off the field. Hope that's not as serious as it looks for him. The seven minutes, incidentally, start now. So it's ten minutes. Cambridge fans are reaching for the smelling salts around Wembley.
92 mins: Clem is now interviewing Gary Mills, possibly taking the access all areas approach a little far. Mills can only splutter "we've got one", as is to be expected of a man in his situation. Get that microphone out of his face, Clem.
89 mins: Miller requires a stretcher, and there'll be plenty of stoppage time to come after this. Seven minutes, in fact. Woof.
Ryan Donaldson is named man of the match - entirely fair, although either the prone Miller or Coulson would be equally worthy winners. It's not over yet, of course.
87 mins: Miller is in pain after clearing another wicked cross; his boots caught in the turf, and it doesn't look good for him. Everyone's taking a breather while Miller gets treatment. Cunnington has picked up a booking for Cambridge.
86 mins: For the second time this afternoon, BT Sport have to apologise for Gary Mills' potty mouth, as he gives full-back Baxter both barrels for a poor pass. Oster's cross is cleared away by Miller; he and Coulson have been excellent at the back for Cambridge.
84 mins: Cambridge are camped in their own half here, but have been able to repel Gateshead with relative ease since that Marwood chance. Lester twists and turns in the D, but confuses only himself, and the ball is cleared.
81 mins: Oof! From a corner, John Oster sees a couple of dangerous crosses cleared. The ball falls to Curtis, who opts for a cute chipped pass to Marwood, rather than the blootered shot we were all expecting. Marwood strikes from a tight angle, but Coulson gets in the way, and deflects the shot wide. Cambridge are rocking here, but the corner is headed over.
O'Donnell feeds Marwood on the left, and his cross finally creates a clear chance for Hatch. His header is firm but well saved, but Jack Lester is on hand to turn in the rebound. Game on...
79 mins: This game has rather had the air taken out of it by that superb Donaldson free kick. Gateshead continue to press, but now they're having to force openings, it feels a little laboured. Or does it...
75 mins: Magnay is the latest man in white to not really test Smith with a long range effort. They looked the only winners at half time; this game has rather slipped through their fingers in a brutal half-hour period.
73 mins: Dunk tries a peculiar lobbed shot from distance, which a sun-dazzled Bartlett bats down with relative comfort. Here's our own Geoff Shreeves, Alistair Lawrence, with another Wembley telegram:
Chadwick is carrying a knock according to murmurs in the stands, but it's good to have him on. I was, however, charged an incredible £3.40 for a Mars bar at half time, so along with the goal there have been some real ups and downs in the last 20 minutes.
How's that for up-to-the-minute reportage? Take that, Big TV!
71 mins: Gateshead concede another sloppy free kick, dead centre of goal, around 25 yards out. Donaldson stands over it, and arcs a sensational strike which rises up and over the wall, then swoops inside Bartlett's left-hand post! Donaldson has been Cambridge's standout player today, and that's his third goal at Wembley this season. If that's the goal that takes them back to the Football League, it's worthy of the title.
69 mins: Hatch chases down a lost cause, but can only force a Cambridge goal kick. He's been a positive addition, but is a touch isolated; Gateshead need to push forward at some point. Here comes Jack Lester, on for Chandler. He came out of retirement in February at Gary Mills' express request. *checks script* Ah, of course.
67 mins: Oster has a swing at goal from just left of centre, but it flies high and wide. Jack Lester is coming on for Gateshead - this is starting to feel like a Masters tournament.
63 mins: Gateshead have recovered from their crisis of confidence - first Marwood, then Hatch making testing runs into the Cambridge back four. It's worth noting that for all their endeavours, Gateshead haven't tested Smith in the Cambridge goal really at all.
60 mins: Elliott, largely reduced to a 'nuisance value' presence in the first half, is getting the chance to run at the Gateshead defence. His shot this time is soft, and easy for Bartlett. At the other end, O'Donnell, on loan from Conference champions Luton, has space on the left of the area but his shot limply hits first man.
57 mins: Double change for Gateshead, with JJ O'Donnell and Liam Hatch on for Colin Larkin and Marcus Maddison. Here's Stephen Gibb:
I’m sat by my pool in Gascony, looking out over the Pyrenees. Having grown up in Durham, following this on the basis that Gateshead is somehow still part of County Durham rather than Tyneside. I also lived a few hundred meters from the Abbey Stadium during the John Beck years, and it almost put me off football altogether.
Pool in Gascony? I'm delighted for you, Stephen. Not my bag, but you go for it.
54 mins: Cambridge have got the proverbial bit between their teeth now, penning Gateshead back inside their own area. Perhaps those two previous play-off final defeats were weighing on their minds - they hadn't really turned up before Dunk's introduction. Mark Judd is having a cracking Sunday:
I’ve spent the past few hours trying to replace the main nearside indicator bulb of a 2006 Corsa. Will the fixing go back into the hole? No! No! No! I hate any form of DIY. I should have paid Halfords the £3.99 they wanted to charge me letting them do it. No, said I, this won’t take long. I’m open to your readers offering any advice they have, constructive or otherwise.
I can't help, Mark, although I once fitted a windscreen wiper outside Halfords by myself. One of the proudest days of my life.
52 mins: Gateshead will be reeling. They've had so much possession, but have repeatedly looked vulnerable from set pieces. Here's this from Alistair Lawrence:
I'm three rows from the front with two mates (one's a Tranmere fan apparently desperate for a day out). We can't see a thing because of the sun. That said, it's plain as day United need to sub on Luke Chadwick. He can do things such as run with the ball at his feet and beat a man, both of which appear to be skills missing from our starting XI.
I'll wager Alistair is feeling a touch more chipper right now.
From a second successive corner, Donaldson whips an outstanding ball in, which arcs over Bartlett and onto the head of Liam Hughes. The midfielder can't miss with his firm header, and Cambridge have one foot in the Football League.
50 mins: Harrison Dunk tests Bartlett with a stealthy shot from distance that almost creeps into the bottom corner. Cambridge have forced a couple of corners...
We're underway again. There's a change for Cambridge - Harrison Dunk is on for Delano Sam-Yorke, who was largely anonymous in the first half. That could signal a change of shape from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2. Cambridge needed to change something, but losing a man in midfield doesn't seem like the right move to make. We shall see.
An engaging, if not explosive, first half there. Gateshead have played the better football, and may rue not making more of their dominance. Cambridge will point to two lenient calls by the referee to let John Oster and Marcus Maddison stay on the pitch. It's still very much up for grabs - back in ten.
43 mins: Moments later, Larkin prods the ball into Marwood from the left, their extra width once again causing Cambridge problems. Marwood gets a touch, and goes down under a challenge from Miller! The ref waves play on. Replays prove inconclusive; you've seen them given, though.
42 mins: A lovely passing move from Gateshead - Turnbull and Chandler work the ball right, before Maddison sweeps a low cross towards Marwood. The Cambridge defence hold firm, as they have done admirably so far.
39 mins: A familiar pattern continues, with Gateshead stroking the ball manfully around their defence, and Cambridge resorting to a more direct, and largely ineffective style. Both teams would probably welcome half-time, and a quick Calippo, right about now.
36 mins: Hughes launches a long throw into the Gateshead box. Bartlett stays strong in an old-fashioned melee, and is eventually awarded a free kick after a shove from Elliott. Worth noting that Cambridge, the last team in the top five divisions to lose a game, had hoped to go up automatically, while Gateshead have rolled into the playoffs on an unexpected wave of form. It's shown so far.
33 mins: Cambridge director of football Jez George, talking to Mark Clemmit on the touchline, is pretty narked about John Oster and Marcus Maddison remaining on the pitch. It's understandable.
30 mins: Gateshead win a corner, which Maddison takes to jeers from the Cambridge supporters. He attempts a one-two with Oster, but they make a hash of it - and Maddison flies into another untidy challenge! He's strutting across thin ice, with only eggshells for ballast, at present.
Here's Richard Vale with an excellent piece of trivia:
Both managers have European Cup winners medals. Gary Mills payed for Forest in their 1980 victory over Kevin Keegan's Hamburg SV. Richard Money was in the Liverpool squad when they overcame Real Madrid the following year.
28 mins: A lull - a chance for everybody to simmer down a little bit. Gateshead have had 70% possession - it's been an impressive start from them, and makes those rash hacks seem even more unnecessary.
26 mins: Chandler is the latest to take a pot shot from 25 yards or so; it's firm and low, but straight at Smith. If Cambridge lose this, Richard Money's post-match interview will feature the phrase "I don't want to focus on poor decisions, but".
24 mins: Another agricultural challenge flies in, this time from Maddison! It's a late, clumsy hack, which should see the Gateshead man collect a second booking - but the referee lets him off the hook. Gateshead can count themselves lucky to still have eleven men on the pitch, in truth.
23 mins: Now it's Oster in the book. He kicked out at Donaldson moments ago, got a proper stew on, and then went back for seconds as soon as play restarted. Two pretty blatant kicks - he's perhaps lucky just to collect a caution for that. Risible antics from a 35-year-old man.
19 mins: Berry fluffs Cambridge's first opportunity in a while, collecting the ball just outside the area but slapping his shot straight at Bartlett. Moments later, Tom Champion is given a yellow card for a full-bodied challenge on Maddison.
17 mins: From Chandler's knock-down, Marwood attempts an audacious looping volley - it looks nice, but it's a few feet high and wide. All a bit cavalier so far. Gateshead's fans, incidentally, are in the Arsenal fans' end - presumably kicking falafels and San Pellegrino from under their feet.
16 mins: Maddison squares a poor cross from the right, which is cleared away. Gateshead definitely edging it in terms of possession, and shoddy crossing, so far.
14 mins: Another shot for the 'Heed - this time it's Marwood with a low effort that drifts well wide. Nerves in both defences early on, and understandably so. Another hour out in that heat will sort them out.
12 mins: John Oster picks up the ball again, and shimmies towards the Cambridge area. The Gateshead faithful implore him to shoot, but he slides to the right, opening up space for an angled shot. Sadly, he then keeps going, all the way to the byline, then cuts a meek cross back to no-one in particular.
11 mins: Taylor gets a chance to cross again from the left after Elliott's knock-down, but this time his centre is cleared. Lively opening here, if lacking any real opportunities since Donaldson's early strike.
10 mins: Cambridge earn a corner, and the delivery picks out Luke Berry, craning to nod the ball towards the far post - but his header goes wide. Gateshead will need to sort out their set-piece defending, in addition to, well, their other defending, if they want to finish this game as a Football League club.
8 mins: John Oster looks to be the man running things in the Gateshead midfield, working the ball around with a series of one-twos, before launching another diagonal - but this one's well overhit, and Smith, on loan from Leicester, collects.
5 mins: Gateshead settle after that rocky start, and John Oster's long ball nearly finds Marwood, playing as a lone front man today. Gary Mills's team pride themselves on being a non-league side that play good passing football. Frankly, I've heard that one before, but we'll see.
2 mins: Strong early save from Gateshead's Bartlett! Gateshead struggle to clear a Taylor cross, and Donaldson drills one from just right of the D. It's in Bartlett's general vicinity, but hit at a fair whip, and he does well to turn it firmly behind. The corner isn't dealt with spectacularly well either, but Gateshead escape with a goal kick.
We'll be off in five minutes. In nearly all football matches, I can find a spurious reason for picking a favourite. I'm struggling here, though - it seems harsh on both teams, for different reasons, to fall short today. If anyone can offer a good reason to root for either team, I'm all ears. Although obviously, as a Guardian MBMer, I am a natural bastion of impartiality, and love both of these teams equally, as if they were my own children.
Certain supporters who shan't be named that think they've had a tough time of it should take a long hard look at the 'Heed, perched between north-east giants Newcastle and Sunderland. A mainstay in the Football League from 1930 to 1960, Gateshead's halcyon days exist only on Pathé newsreels, including memorable Cup ties with Liverpool and Nat Lofthouse's Bolton in the 1950s.
After failing to be re-elected in 1960 - a decision the club put down to their geographical isolation, rather than their on-field efforts - Gateshead slid towards liquidation. From 1973 to 1977, the club closed down on three separate occasions before finding stability and floating around the non-league pyramid. They've been consolidating in the Conference since Cambridge's second playoff final, and are the form team today - unbeaten in 14.
The two teams have never featured in the Football League at the same time, and that will continue after today. The only other point of note - both teams have dreadful crests. What does that mean? We'll find out.
While we wait, a few words on a team that have toiled harder than most to get back to the Football League. Cambridge will be hoping Arsenal's nine-year itch inspires their players; they dropped out of League Two a few weeks before Patrick Vieira lifted the FA Cup in 2005.
The U's have reached the Conference playoff final twice since then, losing to Exeter in 2008 and Torquay in 2009. This is a club that's surprisingly familiar with Wembley; in addition to those two defeats, they were up in Brent just six weeks ago, winning the FA Trophy final against Gosport.
Cambridge's glory days were kick-started by a trip to the old Wembley - in 1990, to be precise, when a Dion Dublin goal won them the Fourth Division playoffs. It sparked a dizzying rise under long-ball specialist John Beck, which left them just two games from a place in the inaugural Premier League. They lost out, and big-spending Blackburn took their place - the rest is history.
Here's the Gateshead team - notable names include John Oster, a Premier League stalwart for both Everton and Sunderland, and James Marwood, a fleet-footed wide man reminiscent of his dad, Brian.
The Cambridge team is in - look out for midfielder Luke Berry, who's helped himself to 16 goals already this season. The Chadwick named on the bench is indeed Luke Chadwick, formerly of Manchester United.
BT Sport are covering the big game, with an entertaining warts-and-all build up. Mark 'Clem' Clemmitt has popped in to both dressing rooms. Cambridge boss Richard Money cut a coy figure, flanked by Brentian inspirational mantras like "attitudes are contagious". A more traditional approach from Gateshead gaffer Gary Mills, who dropped a Sunday afternoon F-bomb after Clem snuck in during his team talk. We've also seen James Beattie in a blue waistcoat/strides combo, and Graeme Swann (for some reason) interviewing heat-addled fans outside the ground. A strong start.
Afternoon. Cup final? Pah. Champions League final? Please. England international? Don't even think about it. Today, Wembley hosts a battle worthy of this mighty arena. Two teams fighting tooth and nail for the final place in next season's Football League - it's the Conference play-off final.
Cambridge United, who have fought for a return to the 92 since falling through the trapdoor in 2005, take on Gateshead, a team who have never been closer to making it back since they failed to win re-election way back in 1960. One team will complete the journey from wrack and ruin; the other will see their fragile, barely realised dreams trampled underfoot. For true romance, look no further.
The sweat and tears have been mopped from the stands and dugouts after yesterday's FA Cup thriller, and sunny Wembley Stadium is on show again. It won't be full today, but it's only right that a game with so much at stake is played at the national arena. It's not anything to do with money, honest. The game gets underway at 4pm, and we'll have plenty of build-up along the way.
