Reynolds praises ‘never-say-die’ attitude as Rylands come from behind to reach play-off final

FC United led twice in the game through first-half goals from Jan Palinkas and Dec Evans, either side of a Ben Hardcastle penalty. 

But Rylands rallied with two efforts from Clive Smith and George Waring after the break to secure their place in the final on Bank Holiday Monday.

Blues boss Neil Reynolds was delighted with his side’s performance, especially in the second half, and felt his squad deserved a trip to Hednesford Town next week to determine who will join Hebburn Town in National League North next season.

“I told them at half-time that I'm not ready for a summer break yet, and they’re not ready either,” Reynolds said post-match.

“Since I’ve come into the football club, they have been amazing. At half-time, we were getting beaten, and that was on me. At full-time, we won, and it was on them. 

“I’ll say it all the time, how proud I am of them, how well they came back from a 2-1 deficit in front of a really good crowd, and the two goals we scored were amazing. We had a never-say-die attitude.”

Despite his ties with FC United, having managed there for six years before taking charge of Rylands, there was no animosity between Reynolds and the beaten semi-finalists.

The Rylands boss knows that his side had to be near-perfect to prevail, and admits it will be a similar scenario on Monday.

“There is no part of me jumping up and down before we beat FC United, but I am jumping up and down because I’m proud of my group. We deserved a place in that final,” he added.

“As it stands now, we’re one of the top three sides in the NPL. Hebburn are the best, and now it’s all down to who will be the second-best between Hednesford and us. They know that they’ll be in a game, we know we will, and I’m sure it will be packed in there."