Luke Molyneux eyes his own Wembley moment with Hartlepool United after former Sunderland striker's experience as a fan ahead of Papa John's Trophy semi-final tie with Rotherham United

Molyneux, 23, has yet to taste what it’s like to walk out at the home of football as a player with his Hartlepool United side now just 90 minutes away from being able to do just that as they get set to host Rotherham United in the Papa John's trophy semi-final.

But the Pools striker has been to Wembley as a fan, which harbours his only memory of the venue, and it was a memory to forget.

Just days after celebrating his 21st birthday, and 24 hours on from a 3-2 defeat at Eastleigh with Pools, Molyneux was part of the 85,021 strong crowd for the 2019 EFL Trophy final - a competition record attendance - between his boyhood club Sunderland and Portsmouth.

At the time, Molyneux was still contracted to the Black Cats as he was sent out on-loan to cut his teeth with Pools in the National League.

But his allegiance to the club remained as he cheered on the Wearsiders at Wembley.

Unfortunately for Molyneux, and Sunderland, the result did not go the way either wanted as Portsmouth lifted the trophy after edging a thrilling game on penalties.

And it is a moment Molyneux would like to forget, instead replacing it with his own memory with Pools.

“As a fan I have [been to Wembley]. But not as a player,” said Molyneux.

“I went to watch Sunderland play Portsmouth so that was the only time I’ve really been. It was packed.

“That was when I was on-loan here from Sunderland. I remember we had Eastleigh away and I just stayed down after the game so I could go to Wembley.

“It was really good to be honest, obviously the result wasn’t.

“So just to make it to Wembley would be a dream come true.”

Molyneux added: “You always dream and you always think about the fact that we are only 90 minutes away from Wembley.

“It’s going to be a big game for everyone including the fans so I’m just looking forward to it.”

Molynuex heads into the game in fine form after celebrating his 100th appearance for Pools following that permanent switch from the Stadium of Light almost three years ago.

Molyneux marked the occasion with a stunning goal against Harrogate Town, his ninth of the season, as the 23-year-old has emerged as a key part of Graeme Lee’s squad, demonstrating as much in the quarter-final of this competition when coming on as a substitute against Charlton Athletic to help Pools advance into the semi-finals.

And the striker sees no reason why Pools can’t claim another scalp in the competition having proven their worth already against higher-level opposition.

“I think it was when we were beating the teams out of the group stages and giving it a right go,” said Molyneux.

“We were playing them teams and they were showing us a lot of respect by putting out their strongest teams and we were reacting to that.

“Obviously you see the Sheff Wed game and the Charlton game, we took them down, and Bolton as well.

“They were all tough games but that just shows what we’re capable of and I think we can do that again.”

But Pools could not have asked for a tougher game to try and book an historic spot at Wembley.

They welcome a Rotherham side top of the League One table with their eyes focused on a league and cup double this season.

But Molyneux, who had his eyes on the EFL Trophy itself during the club’s media day recently, remains confident in his side after a run five wins in their last seven games heading into tonight’s semi-final.

“I don’t think the fact that they are top of League One makes much difference for us,” said Molyneux.

“We’ve beat a lot of teams in that league as well as Blackpool in the Championship so I don’t think we are going into the game thinking ‘they are the favourites’ or ‘they are the better team’ because we can take them down.

“Overall, I think it has been a very good season for us, on and off the pitch,” Molyneux added.

“The cup runs, in both cups, have been massive and we are recently doing well in the league. It’s been really good.

“The main priority was to stay in the division. So to now feel like we’ve pretty much almost done that means we can enjoy games like this a lot more.”

There can be no denying this season feels like a coming of age for Molyneux.

From dealing with his exit at Sunderland to this year becoming a standout player for Pools following speculation over his future last summer.

It would perhaps then be fitting should Molyneux be the one to fire Pools to an historic Wembley final in front of a sold-out Suit Direct Stadium.

And while it won’t quite be the 85,021 attendance Molyneux was a part of on that day three years ago, Molyneux knows just how big a part they will play in helping Pools to reach the final.

“The fans have always been massive for us,” Molyneux explains.

“They’ve always helped us get through a lot of games and in the cup runs that we’ve had already to get past Blackpool, Bolton and teams like that.

“The fans have been massive for us and they are going to be again on Wednesday.”

Molyneux has never been to Wembley before as a player, but maybe, just maybe, that might change after tonight.

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