Wayne Hall

Wayne Hall occupies a permanent prized place in the hearts and minds of the Minstermen faithful that will last decades, and likely the entire lifetime of the Bootham Crescent club.

Ginner, the nickname affectionately accorded him because of his carrot-top hair, confirmed a red-letter day for City and genuine Wembley hero status for himself.

Thirteen years on from the sun-drenched day when his trusty left-foot jettisoned him into club history on their first visit to Wembley, Hall will undertake the same pilgrimage south for City’s second date with Wembley destiny.

This weekend he will be among the former player ambassadors accompanying the fans’ army of red, blue and white to north London.

This Saturday the club for whom he made more than 400 appearances in a decade-spanning Crescent career, will be seeking to erase a miserable Blue Square Premier campaign by rekindling the magic of Wembley in the FA Trophy final against Conference rivals Stevenage Borough.

Back on May 29, 1993, the then 24-year-old Hall was an integral influence in a City team that enthrallingly eked out promotion over Crewe Alexandra to ascend to what is now the equivalent of Coca-Cola League One.

First time around, it was at the old Wembley. The iconic twin towers enhanced the reputation of the former Empire Stadium as the spiritual home of English football.

This Saturday, it is that arena’s mega-million pound replacement which offers the chance of salvation for the modern-day Minstermen to banish the blues of a wretched league term by becoming the first City side to capture a national domestic cup.

Now the eye-catching architectural feature is a glowing, high-tech arch. That might be as far removed from those dual concrete-clad towers as the Gherkin from the Pyramids, but for Hall the pinnacle of playing at Wembley remains identical.

Explained Hall: “Yes, it’s a brilliant day out for the club, the fans and the players, and I would hope all the players take it all in and enjoy every minute.

“But they also have to understand that the true reason why they are there is to win.

“Winning at Wembley is what it’s all about. It’s not just about the day. If you win, it will stick in your mind forever and also in the minds of the fans.

“Nobody really remembers losers at Wembley, do they?”

Everyone connected with York City remembers Ginner. The left-back with venom in that left foot drew acclaim for many a wonder-strike. He was also the defender who memorably nut-megged no less a footballing legend than Ryan Giggs in that epic 3-0 Coca-Cola Cup conquest of Manchester United in their Old Trafford citadel in 1995.

But more than that, two years earlier, it was Hall’s unerring penalty, which followed on from goalkeeper Dean Kiely’s save of Gareth Whalley’s spot-kick, which catapulted City up the league ladder.

“Winning the way we did at Manchester United is up there with the best times I had as a York City player, but Wembley has that magic and winning at Wembley...” said Hall before trailing off to a brief pause of reverie. “Well, not every player can say they have won a final at Wembley.”

Not surprisingly, a video of that May-day magic was made and was one of the biggest sellers in City’s merchandising history.

Hall’s dad, who travelled from his south Yorkshire home to watch his son in action in the Minstermen colours home and away, bought a copy. But the ex-City defender revealed he had never watched it all the way through, nor has he shown it to any of his three children.

“I don’t feel the need to watch it, because the memory is still there in my head. When I do think about it I can recall almost everything about the build-up and the day,” he said.

“I remember the hotel we stayed in, the drive to the stadium in which we got a police escort, the sight of those twin towers. Then we got to the dressing-rooms and we looked all around before we went out on to the pitch.”

The clash itself proved a gruelling tussle, which went to extra time and, of course, that penalty shoot-out.

Recalled Hall: “Alan Little (City’s manager) had played it all low-key since we had got to the final. That week before he chose his five penalty-takers because someone had said that so many finals were decided that way.

“We knew who would be taking the kicks and the order, and we practised them. I was number five, not because I wanted any glory, but because I thought it would be done and dusted by then.

“But all the penalties we took were brilliant and I think that was down to Alan Little telling us just before that we had to be confident and comfortable about where we were going to place the ball and to stick with that decision.”

Even after he scored and both he and Kiely were joyously mobbed by thrilled team-mates it was not until the open-top bus ride – organised by the then Evening Press – that the magnitude of the achievement sunk in.

“I could not believe how many people turned out. The reaction of the supporters was brilliant. I never really thought York was a football sort of place, but that showed just what it meant to the fans.

“Now today’s City’s players have the same chance to play at Wembley. But they’ve got to realise why they are going there in the first place and that’s to come back with a win.”