BEHIND THE SCENES: It was the Cobblers at Wembley... but not as we know it!

In 2013, 28,000 made the the trip to north London and probably wished they hadn't!

And in 2020, there were none... well, apart from a handful in the media (guilty as charged!) and on the club staff!

The Covid-19 pandemic meant that the Sky Bet League Two play-off final between the Cobblers and Exeter City was played behind closed doors, and it was weird!

So where do I start with that surreal, strange, odd and memorable experience then?

As listed above, trips to Wembley have hardly been a regular occurrence for the Cobblers over the years, with wins at the national stadium even less so.

But, on Monday night, 23 years on from that glorious late May day when Ray Warburton lifted the division three play-off trophy in front of the Royal Box under the old twin towers, Town were Wembley winners once again.

Keith Curle's men produced one of the most emphatic play-off final victories ever seen as they dismantled the Grecians 4-0 in a performance full of power, punch, passion and precision.

But, unlike in 1997, there was to be no epic on-pitch celebration with the supporters in the stands, because there were no Town fans in north London to witness their team's incredible performance.

And trust me, a matchday visit to Wembley without fans is an extremely odd experience.

This is the first time it has happened, and walking around the perimeter of the stadium before the game, it was quite sad to stand in front of the impressive and imposing Bobby Moore statue and look down over a totally deserted Wembley Way.

The merchandise stands around the ground were shuttered up, there was no buzz, no singing, no chanting, no flag waving. Nothing.

This was the first match staged at Wembley since the Covid-19 pandemic broke in early March, and stadium organisers were certainly taking no chances.

I would think they were also in practice and trial mode ahead of more high profile matches to come, including the FA Cup semi-finals and final, and the Championship play-off.

There still won't be any fans at those matches of course, but I would imagine there will be plenty more media interest!

It was all very different, but in truth things went pretty smoothly.

Entry times were staggered, with the written press not allowed inside the ground until 6pm, and there was also a pre-match health check at a makeshift medical centre in a marquee.

Once I was given the all clear and masked up, I was allowed in to the ground for a 500-metre walk to the press box through an eerily quiet inside concourse.

Where there would normally be 1,000s of supporters enjoying a beer, coffee, pie or burger, all excited in anticipation of the big game to come, there was nobody but a handful of stewards in orange jackets to make sure I was heading the right way.

All the food and drink outlets were locked up, the gangways to the seats in the stadium blocked off. It was eerily quiet.

On arrival at the press box, I got my first view of the stadium and the pristine pitch and there is no doubt it is a special sight, and without fans in there it seems even bigger than it usually does.

Although there were 89,000 or so empty seats, those excellent cardboard cutouts aside, there was a still a pre-match show over the PA, a strobe light show welcoming the players on to the pitch, and a big screen showing Kettering's Faryl Smith belting out the national anthem.

Following a touching minute's silence in memory of former Cobbler and Grecians player Theo Foley, who passed away last Friday, the action got underway, with the only sounds being the shouts of the players and management teams - with Curle as always making himself heard.

The supporters who had been denied the chance to watch their team at Wembley had to instead watch or listen to the action from home, but, take it from one of the privileged few who were inside the stadium, those players did every single supporter proud.

They were immense.

Just as they had done in the semi-final second-leg at Cheltenham, the Cobblers players shrugged off the unfamiliarity of their surroundings to simply concentrate on the job in hand.

That job was beating Exeter and wining promotion from Sky Bet League Two, and they did just that. With bells on.

From the moment Ryan Watson got the ball rolling with his 11th-minute strike Town were in control, with Callum Morton doubling the lead before the break - giving his team-mates an instant tonic following Nicky Adams' unfortunate withdrawal through injury.

Curle will have warned his team for a Grecians reaction after the break, but despite some spells of possession it never came.

Dean Moxey's rush of blood that led to him thinking it was a good idea to scythe down Watson with the ball nowhere in sight saw him sent off on the hour, and surely that was that?

But, as any Cobblers fan will tell you, nothing is ever that straight forward.

I sat in the Wembley press box with the Cobblers winning 2-0 and playing against 10 men, and I was more nervous than I had been when it was 0-0!!

The talkSPORT commentator Sam Matterface was sitting a couple of rows behind me, and he and summariser Chris Iwelumo had the Cobblers home and dry with 15 minutes remaining - whereas I was still fearing the worst!!

It's just the way it is.

It was because the prize was so close, and that Town now had something to lose - but thankfully they didn't.

Instead, Curle's men proved the talkSPORT boys right and turned on the afterburners.

They proceeded to pile more misery on Exeter, as late goals from Sam Hoskins and substitute Andy Williams saw the scored to 4-0.

It was at this point that I really relaxed!!

Then came the trophy presentation and post-match media duties, pandemic style.

With no dignitaries to do the honours as they normally would, the Cobblers players had to pick their own medals from a table, before moving to the trophy plinth, where Curle and skipper Charlie Goode jointly, and jubilantly, lifted the play-off final trophy.

That sparked the traditional Champagne celebrations, but the only cheers you could hear were from the players and staff on the pitch!!

It was surreal. It was weird. It was very strange. But it was a brilliant moment!

At his point, we journalists would normally head to the press room for press conferences or to the mixed zone, where the players have to walk through, to get interviews from all the key men.

But that's now how it's done at this moment in time.

Instead, we were banned from moving and had to stay where we were in the press box.

We were then sent a link to barely audible Zoom conferences with managers Curle and Matt Taylor, while the Cobblers media team thankfully sent over pitchside player interviews via WhatsApp... it's the modern world!

Then it was time to leave, and this is where a behind closed doors match at Wembley has one big plus over having fans in the ground - getting home!

Always a nightmare to get away from, no matter what form of transport is chosen, there was, for once, no hassle at all as I got in my car and headed for the North Circular.

That was certainly one part of this very strange Wembley experience that I enjoyed very much!

Although, obviously, not quite as much as watching the Cobblers win promotion.

The past couple of weeks has been something to behold from Curle's men, who when they lost that semi-final first-leg to Cheltenham looked dead and buried and destined for another season in league two.

Two incredible performances and seven goals without reply later they are looking forward to life in league one.

They have had to do it without their brilliant supporters backing them, but, Covid-19 permitting, those fans now have plenty to look forward to whenever next season eventually gets underway.

There will be derbies against Peterborough United, grudge clashes with Milton Keynes Dons, and huge matches against the likes of Sunderland, Ipswich Town and perhaps Portsmouth as well.

And you never know, they might find themselves at Wembley once again next year... after all, stranger things have happened!