Neil Harris was left heartbroken as Millwall crashed to a 1-0 defeat to Wigan in the Auto Windscreens Shield final at Wembley.
Nearly 50,000 Lions' fans roared on the former Maldon Town striker as he looked to have scored on the hour before Wigan defender Colin Greenall cleared off the line.
And the same fans howled in anger when Harris was denied, what looked a clear-cut penalty, when he was taken down by Greenall.
The agony was compounded when Wigan scored moments before time although Andy Liddell clearly handled the ball during the build-up.
But it was still a marvellous climax to Harris's first full season as a professional.
One year ago he was working in the City as an insurance underwriter for a Japanese firm.
He joined Cambridge City from Maldon for £5,000 before Graham Daniels moved him on to Millwall for an initial £30,000 which could go as high as £100,000 depending on appearances.
Maldon Town get a third of the total and a small percentage of any sell-on fee.
With 18 goals already, Harris has proved a huge hit at the New Den and clubs including Ipswich have shown an interest in the striker now rated at between £500,000 and £1 million.
Former Heybridge Swifts' manager Garry Hill, who still plays Sunday football in the Chelmsford League, was denied a trip to Wembley in the FA Trophy.
His new club St Albans were leading 2-0 in the second leg of the semi-final before Forest Green came from behind to win 3-2 and 4-3 on aggregate.
Forest Green will now face fellow Conference club Kingstonian in the final.
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