More than eight years have passed since McManus, now 35, lofted a bouncing ball into the net from the edge of the box to win Non-League’s premier knockout competition for FC Halifax Town, trumping Grimsby Town 1-0 at the home of football.
Saturday sees him start his latest march to the arch with Step 3 Barwell, taking on league rivals Stratford Town in the third qualifying round.
And while he accepts the chances of going back to Wembley are slim, it does give proud dad McManus an excuse to wheel out the showreel again.
“I would be lying if I said I hadn’t watched it back,” he told The NLP.
“In any other game I probably wouldn’t have tried that but in the moment, at Wembley, I just thought I would give it a go.
This story is from the September 29, 2024 edition of The Non-League Football Paper.
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This story is from the September 29, 2024 edition of The Non-League Football Paper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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