2007: Shrewsbury Town at Wembley

Shrewsbury Town is preparing to take to the hallowed Wembley turf for a play-off final for the second time in two years.

The current crop of players is hoping to go one better than in 2007, when the club lost 3-1 to Bristol Rovers.

But what have the players of that squad been up to in the last two years and where are they now?

Goalkeeper Chris MacKenzie said he still had clear memories of the trip to Wembley but said he had been left “gutted” by the result at the final whistle.

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He said: “It was probably a day with the biggest highs and biggest lows all in one day. It was a stand-out occasion but also a major disappointment.

“When the crowd started to roar it reverberated around your body, it was hard to hear players shouting. It was quite a surreal moment.

“If I remember rightly we were the driving force in that game all the way through and always going for it, we had most of the possession and they caught us on the counter-attack.”

The 6ft keeper left the club to join Conference club Kidderminster in January 2008.

The former AFC Telford, Chester and Hereford Utd keeper said he believed the current squad had it in them to beat Gillingham.

He said: “They have had trials and tribulations this year and at one point I thought they might not make it but they had the character to get in the play-offs and that’s the character that will help them win it.

“They are a League One team playing in a League One ground with League One fans and if they went up it’s only where they should be, it’s where they deserve to be.”

Danny Hall, who also made the starting line-up that day, said he hoped Shrewsbury could win promotion against the Gills.

Recalling the match against Bristol Rovers two years ago, he said: “Basically we went down early a few days before and stayed in a hotel which was a lot better than the normal awayday ones.

“We had a day out at Wembley the day before the match to get used to the surroundings.

“There were lots of fans travelling down on the day with about 61,000 people on the day. It was a great crowd and an unbelievable experience.

“It was good to have a look up and see how many turned out. I think there was about 25,000 from Shrewsbury, which was a great effort.

“Obviously it was disappointing because we were so close to promotion and it could have gone either way and sadly we missed out on the day. I still have nothing but good memories, even looking back now.”

He said he believed the current Town squad was capable of pulling a result out of the bag to beat Gillingham.

He said: “I still keep in touch with a few of the lads who I speak to regularly, with me being there only a couple of years ago.

“They have got a good chance and I would like to think the gods are with them the way they beat Bury in the second leg and I would love to see them going up.”

By Russell Roberts