MONTY AIMS TO END ON A HIGH
JAMES Montgomery is hoping Gateshead’s band of brothers can see their togetherness rewarded with an FA Trophy final win.
It has been a challenging season for the 29-year-old goalkeeper and his Heed teammates – but their FA Trophy run has been one of the real plusses of the campaign. With players unavailable due to being cup-tied and an unrelenting injury crisis, a stripped back Heed squad have come through big tests against the likes of Farsley Celtic and Barnet to secure only the club’s second ever visit to Wembley. Montgomery has played no small part either, helping his side through penalty shootouts in their quarter-final and semi-final ties – and he is now hoping the Heed ‘family’ can ‘embrace the moment’ and secure a win that would etch their names into the club’s history.
“I just want to go there and win first and foremost, and then to experience it with people that I have become good friends with during this spell at the club,” he told The NLP. “It’s a really tight-knit squad, one of the best I’ve ever had the honour of being part of. There’s no egos, we are mates, we all get on and we are doing what we can for the club.
“We have a real family feel in the dressing room, we all get on and we will look to embrace that in what is the biggest stadium we will get the chance to play in.
“I want to embrace the moment, everyone wants to embrace the opportunity that lies in front of us and hopefully we can come away with the Trophy.”
The family feel continues outside of the Heed squad with Montgomery insisting his teammates are shying away from the lure of personal glory and are aiming to land a historic win for family, friends and other key individuals at the International Stadium. “I think if you asked all of the lads why they wanted to win the Trophy, I don’t think any of them would say for themselves or for the rest of the players,” he added. “That’s a massive part but I think we would all say we wanted to win it for someone else, for someone else to experience what it means.
“I want that for my Mam and Dad, and my Grandad hasn’t been well recently so for him to see it, I just want to do it for him.”