Southend United’s League Two play-off final saviour Joe Pigott admitted his last-gasp Wembley equaliser was beyond his wildest dreams.
The Essex outfit trailed 1-0 to Wycombe Wanderers after Joe Jacobson’s 95th minute free-kick had cannoned in off unfortunate stopper Daniel Bentley.
All looked lost for the Shrimpers as the clock ticked into injury time at the end of extra-time.
Southend United 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers
AET - Southend win 7-6 on penalties
League 2 play-off final
Saturday 23 May 2015
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
But second-half substitute Pigott had other ideas and his calm touch and precise finish in the 122nd-minute earned Phil Brown's men an opportunity at penalties - one they duly took to take them up to League One.
However, even after the post-match celebrations had quietened, the super-sub, on-loan at Roots Hall from Charlton Athletic, was still in a state of shock.
“You dream as a kid of coming to Wembley and I have been here before eight times to watch games but never thought I’d score at Wembley,” he told WembleyStadium.com.
“The ball fell to me, I had to have a touch to settle it down and then I just struck it nicely with my left foot.
“After that it was just a rush of emotions and obviously it meant a lot given the circumstances, so it was great.”
Following that goal Pigott’s next kick of the ball was to take, and score, the first penalty of the shootout.
And the forward says that he and the other Southend players were brimming with confidence after avoiding defeat in such dramatic circumstances.
Southend celebrate promotion to League 1
“I didn’t mind taking the first penalty, obviously my confidence was sky-high from scoring the goal,” he said.
“The momentum obviously turned as soon as I got the goal with 20 seconds to go and then it's straight into penalties. We knew we were ready.”
Pigott was, understandably, all smiles after the game but despite his significant contribution to the victory he was quick to point out that the day did not only belong to him and his team-mates.
“It is up there with the best days of my life,” he said with a beaming grin.
“It is also a great day for Southend and the fans - they deserve it more than anyone.”
You can follow the latest from this weekend's Football League play-off finals at the national stadium by following @wembleystadium on Twitter or visiting the official Wembley Stadium website, here.
