2016 FA Trophy Final
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| Event | 2015–16 FA Trophy | ||||||
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| Date | 22 May 2016 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Nicky Wroe (FC Halifax Town) | ||||||
| Referee | Lee Mason (Lancashire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 46,781 (including FA Vase Final) | ||||||
The 2015–16 FA Trophy Final was the 47th final of the Football Association's cup competition for levels 5–8 of the English football league system. The match was contested by FC Halifax Town and Grimsby Town. Grimsby Town were beaten finalists in 2013, but it was FC Halifax Town's first final and their first visit to Wembley Stadium. For the first time the final of the FA Vase was played on the same day at the same venue, contested by Hereford and Morpeth Town. Both matches were televised in the UK on BT Sport.
FC Halifax Town defeated Tamworth, Barrow, Chester, Gateshead and Nantwich Town en route to the final.
Grimsby Town defeated Solihull Moors, Weston-super-Mare, Havant & Waterlooville, Woking, and Bognor Regis Town en route to the final.
FC Halifax Town won the match 1–0 thanks to a goal from Scott McManus after 48 minutes.
FC Halifax Town had been embroiled in a relegation battle in the National League all season. A good run in the league coincided with the start of their FA Trophy campaign as they put together some impressive results. They defeated National League North side Tamworth 5–0 in the 1st Round, who had only lost two games all season prior to that. They then went on the defeat divisional rivals Barrow and Chester before being paired with Gateshead in the quarter-final, a side managed by ex-FC Halifax boss of six years Neil Aspin. The original tie ended in a boring 0–0 but the replay was far more dramatic as FC Halifax were 2–1 down equalised in the 92nd minute to take it to extra time. It finished 3–3 after extra time and the penalty shoot-out was won by FC Halifax. In the two-legged semi-final, FC Halifax faced Nantwich Town who were two leagues below FC Halifax in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. FC Halifax grabbed the initiative in the first leg at the Weaver Stadium and took a 4–2 lead into the home tie. An early goal in the second leg at the Shay settled fans' nerves but a resilient Nantwich side fought back to take a 2–1 lead on the day and reduce the aggregate score to 5–4. The second half was on a knife-edge but an unfortunate own goal late on confirmed FC Halifax's place in the Final.
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