Carlisle United goalkeeper Tomas Holy reflects on Wembley victory

The Blues’ Czech shot-stopper play an instrumental role in Carlisle’s victory in the League Two playoff final over Dave Challinor’s Stockport County.

Penalties were required to decide the tie at the national stadium, with Maryport-born Taylor Charters netting the winning spot kick, a moment which Holy reflected on.

“I didn’t know what to do or where to run or who to celebrate with. I ran somewhere and ended up with the boys all next to me, then I just let it explode,” He said in an interview on the club’s website.

“I also wanted to make sure I spoke to Ben Hinchliffe and wish him all the best for next season.

“He had an amazing season and that was one thing I knew I wanted to do. For the rest, it was just an explosion of pure emotion.

“I do remember everything that happened after the game, and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.

“That’s something you always dream of and something you see on TV.”

Holy also made a number of decisive contributions during the playoff final, with the pick of his saves being a gravity-defying stop in the dying embers of the game which diverted former Carlisle United loanee Jack Stretton’s top-corner-bound effort that would have snatched victory for the Hatters.

Speaking after the game, Holy recalled the save and detailed how his penalty preparations were scrapped during the shootout.

“I couldn’t have let Jack Stretton win the game, could I?,” He said.

“I would have liked the save to have been at the other end of the ground so our fans could have had a better view of it, but I still like it.

“The video of the save from behind the goal, I just love seeing Denno’s face.

“You can see how much he loved it as well, and that makes me love it even more.

“For the penalty – it was a good guess.

“I had all the preparation on my water bottle, and three out of the five penalty takers weren’t in the preparation at all, so for the one I saved, I just guessed right.

“Because it was only the second pen, I thought if we were going to win it I would have to save one more, but the boys showed great character and scored all five.

“It takes some nerves to score five out of five, so in the end that one save was all we needed.

Following Carlisle’s triumph, Holy joined in with the wild celebrations in front of the packed Cumbrian end of Wembley and shared his belief that the support from the Bruntn Park faithful was integral to the club’s success in the 2022/23 season.

He said: “I remember when I first signed that people said that fans up north are the best fans, and I think they proved themselves this season.

“Their support during the whole season has just been magnificent.

“We never would have got promoted without them, there’s no question about that. We helped each other this year and I hope we can help each other in League One next year.

“I hope people are buzzing.”