Gary Neville cries tears of joy after racing from Manchester United's defeat at Huddersfield to watch Salford book Wembley date by beating Eastleigh in penalty-shootout

  • Salford beat Eastleigh on penalties to reach the National League play-off final
  • Co-owner Gary Neville was in the crowd and was seen crying after the match
  • Neville had earlier been at Huddersfield to see Manchester United draw 1-1 

Gary Neville was seen sobbing tears of joy after witnessing Salford beat Eastleigh in a penalty shootout to reach the National League play-off final.

Salford keeper Chris Neal saved the decisive spot-kick from Chris Zebroski after the two sides had battled out a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.

The victory saw Salford — who are co-owned by Neville and former Manchester United team-mates Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt — book their first ever trip to Wembley.

Gary Neville (centre) was seen crying after watching Salford beat Eastleigh on penalties

Gary Neville (centre) was seen crying after watching Salford beat Eastleigh on penalties

The Salford co-owner hugged those around him and appeared to be overcome with emotion

The Salford co-owner hugged those around him and appeared to be overcome with emotion

Neville had earlier raced to Salford's Peninsula Stadium from John Smith's Stadium, where he had watched United draw 1-1 with Huddersfield in his role as a Sky Sports pundit.

After Neal saved Zebroski's spot-kick to win the shootout, Neville was filmed by BT Sport cameras hugging those around him while failing to hold back tears.

There was also a pitch invasion as Salford supporters stormed the field to celebrate with players.

Salford will now play AFC Fylde for a place in the Football League.  

The home side had the best chances of the first half, with Adam Rooney forcing a superb save from Luke Southwood before Carl Piergianni headed Salford ahead two minutes before half-time.

Alex Wynter crashed a volley against the bar for Eastleigh and Neal saved brilliantly from Mark Yeates before Paul McCallum headed the visitors level in the 57th minute.

Scott Wiseman missed a great chance to win it for Salford in the last minute of normal time and Emmanuel Dieseruvwe hit the post in the extra period before the home side held their nerve to book their place at Wembley.

Goalkeeper Chris Neal (centre) was Salford's hero in the penalty shootout as he made a save

Goalkeeper Chris Neal (centre) was Salford's hero in the penalty shootout as he made a save

Neville had raced to Salford's Peninsula Stadium after watching Huddersfield vs Man United

Neville had raced to Salford's Peninsula Stadium after watching Huddersfield vs Man United

There was a pitch invasion at the Peninsula Stadium as Salford fans celebrated their victory

There was a pitch invasion at the Peninsula Stadium as Salford fans celebrated their victory

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Gary Neville cries tears of joy after Salford book Wembley date

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