I went to Wembley Stadium to watch Gateshead FC triumph in the FA Trophy final

It has not been an easy month for Gateshead FC, with a dispute involving Gateshead Council and the ownership of the Gateshead International Stadium meaning that the National League club were banned from the playoffs and a chance to get into the Football League. With all of the off pitch turmoil, Gateshead still had one last game to play, and it was a significant one, as they took on Solihull Moors in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium.

Now this is a position that the Heed have been in before, narrowly losing 1-0 to Halifax Town in last year's final. I was there for that game, and was bitterly disappointed that Gateshead came away runners up, so I decided to travel down to Wembley again this time around to see if the club could get redemption and a much-needed positive moment.

I arrived at Central Station in Newcastle on Friday afternoon, seeing a few but not too many Gateshead fans at this point, as most would be travelling on the Lumo train the following morning. After getting sat down and settled, I started to get excited for the coming days, and the potential euphoria at the end of it all.

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• Match Report: Gateshead FC earn Wembley revenge to lift FA Trophy

After a straightforward London Underground ride from Kings Cross to Wembley Park, I walked through the barriers and was immediately greeted by the famous arch of the hallowed Wembley Stadium. As I mentioned, I was at Wembley this time last year, but there is something special about setting eyes on that special football ground every time you go.

I then went to the hotel, the conveniently located Wembley Park Premier Inn, and grabbed some food before I headed up to bed. Waking up the next morning, I headed down for a cooked breakfast, which is when I started to see a lot more Gateshead fans, with a even more set to arrive soon.

After a brief time shopping at the London Designer Outlet, I walked back down Wembley Way, speaking to some Gateshead fans about the way they were feeling ahead of the match. The general mood was definitely positive, with fans saying that it would be a close game but they had faith that Gateshead would be able to get the win.

Then, I arrived at the stairs up to Wembley Stadium, which had extra security on them due to the fact that the FA Vase final, which kicked off at 12:15, was being contested by local rivals Romford and Great Wakering. As I scanned my ticket and entered, I was reminded of the vastness of the 90,000 seater stadium, and headed to grab a drink before catching the second half of the derby.

After Romford ran out 3-0 winners, it was time for the build up to the main event, as Gateshead fans steadily filtered in and the Heed Army's chants got louder and louder. Soon, kick off approached, and both sets of fans, although Gateshead's support was generally louder, greeted their players with huge noise.

Gateshead were the better of the two sides in the first half, and finally got a reward for their endeavour in added time of the opening period, when Regan Booty put them 1-0 up. I looked around as the crowd erupted in noise, thinking that it would be 0-0 at half time and all of a sudden being surprised and elated in equal measure.

After a half time drink, I headed back to my seat, but unfortunately Solihull Moors came out far better in the second half, and grabbed a deserved equaliser for their trouble, taking the tie into the deep waters of extra time. The fans around me weren't dejected for long, staying in strong voice and gearing up for the next 30 minutes.

This time, it was Solihull who struck first, winning a dubious penalty that was dispatched to give them a 2-1 lead, which understandably disappointed the North East club's fans. Once again, Gateshead's resilience showed through, as they equalised through 18-year-old Derby County loanee Dajaune Brown, meaning that the game would be decided in the most gut-wrenching of ways, a penalty shoot-out.

At this point, I had left my seat, as I knew I had an 8:30 train to catch and I was already cutting it close, so I stood in one of the concourse tunnels to watch the penalties. After a back and forth affair, with both teams missing when the other also missed, it eventually came down to the aforementioned Dajaune Brown, with the youngest man on the pitch calmly dispatching his penalty kick to win the FA Trophy for Gateshead FC.

As I was walking out of the stadium, I heard the gigantic noise of the Gateshead fans as they celebrated the victory, and couldn't help getting caught up in the joy of the moment myself as I headed back to grab my stuff from the hotel, and then jump on an Underground train so I could get to Kings Cross and my train on time. I was able to do this with a little time to spare, so grabbed a Greggs' toastie and made my way to the special Gateshead fan Lumo train.

This was the perfect way to end the day, as the atmosphere on the train was fantastic, with fans singing and chanting and everyone in high spirits. Lumo also provided some limited edition Gateshead FC beers from local brewery Black Storm, which made this even better.

I thought about the amazing couple of days I had during my train journey back, and felt pride at experiencing both the heartache of last year's final and the joy of this one. I look forward to following Gateshead to Wembley on more occasions, hopefully to a playoff final one day when this has once again been made possible.