‘Good goal, sir!’ – the teacher aiming for Trophy glory at Wembley

Spennymoor Town are used to punching above their weight in non-league football. But on Sunday, they aim to land the biggest blow in their history.

The National League North side are heading to Wembley for the FA Trophy final against Aldershot Town from the league above.

County Durham club Spennymoor have already knocked out three National League sides to get here, and now a fourth one stands between them and the trophy.

And if Spennymoor are victorious at the national stadium, they will become only the second club to have won both the FA Trophy and the FA Vase.

By day, he is ‘Sir’. But on Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings, Glen Taylor turns into one of the most prolific strikers in non-league football.

Taylor has been with Spennymoor since 2017, which he has combined with family life and teaching at a school in Houghton-le-Spring.

He has plundered 210 goals in 394 appearances, during which time the Moors have been ever-present in the sixth tier of English football against teams with bigger attendances and greater resources.

There were chances to join the paid ranks, but the striker, who turns 35 on Sunday, explains why he has stayed loyal to the club.

“I could have left when I was 27, 28,” he said. “But we had just had our first child and I had a good career.

“It could have meant leaving my job and leaving the area on a one or two-year deal for less money. That never made any sense.

“People say, ‘you’ve got no ambition’, but it’s about making sensible decisions. If you asked someone to go and work for a better company but on significantly less money, they wouldn’t do it.

Taylor works at World Alternative Education, a school for boys who have been excluded from mainstream education.

He believes his footballing exploits have allowed him to establish a positive rapport with his pupils.

“All the boys are into football and it helps that one of the other teachers is an EFL assistant referee,” he added. “I think I’ve gained a bit of respect from them because of it.

“The usual questions I get asked are ‘how much do you get paid?’ or ‘how did you get on?’

“Occasionally I’ll come in on a Monday and they’ll say ‘That was a good goal,’ as they will have found it on YouTube.

“But it helps the relationship. We play football on Wednesday so they’ve seen me play.

Spennymoor are aiming to become only the second club after AFC Fylde to win both the Vase and the Trophy.

The Trophy is the most prestigious cup for non-league teams – it is played for by teams who compete in levels five to eight in the English football pyramid (the Premier League and English football League make up levels one to four), with clubs from levels nine to 11 entering the Vase.

The Moors finished ninth in National League North this season competing against fully professional sides while still operating on a part-time basis, with the squad training on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Their run to Wembley has seen them knock out National League sides Boston United, Sutton United and Rochdale, the latter in the semi-finals.

And it has created lots of special memories for head of football Jason Ainsley.

He is ‘Mr Spennymoor’, having first signed for them as a player and then worked as assistant manager, coach, 13 years as manager and now in his current role.

He was in charge in May 2013 when they defeated Tunbridge Wells to lift the FA Vase.

“We get crowds of 1,200-1,300 from a population of 22,000 so the football team is a big part of what the community is all about,” Ainsley said.

“For a club the size of ours to get to Wembley twice in 12 years, it’s phenomenal really.

“In the Vase, we were the big pull at that time because we had a really strong team, the elite of north east players. North east clubs had a monopoly on the Vase and Spennymoor were expected to do really well.

“Now, it was important to have a good run but we’ve beaten some really strong sides.

“At Rochdale [in the last four], I got a car park space at the ground and we had flyers on our car doors about transport to Wembley.

“I think they just expected to turn up and win but we equalised with the last kick of the game and then stood up under pressure and scored all five penalties.

The Moors have become used to battling against the odds, operating as a part-time club against former EFL regulars like Scunthorpe United and Chester City.

In the past few years, they have had to compete against Stockport County, Salford City and Harrogate Town, who have gone on to survive and thrive at higher levels.

But Spennymoor have found a way of succeeding by drawing on their unique spirit and togetherness.

“There are probably a lot of teams punching far less above their weight than we are,” Ainsley added.

“Teams don’t like coming to play us. Our pitch has a little bit of a slope on it and we have players who never give up and have that north east fighting spirit.

Ainsley will take his seat in the Royal Box at Wembley, confident his day will be less nerve-wracking than in 2013.

However, he will understand the emotions that manager Graeme Lee will be enduring on the touchline down below.

“Last time, I didn’t even enjoy the night,” he recalled. “I had a few pints and went to bed, I was just shattered.