GATESHEAD needed penalties to beat Solihull Moors in an end-to-end and at-times-controversial FA Trophy final at Wembley, with teenage striker Dajaune Brown sealing the win.

Strikes from Regan Booty and Brown cancelled out two controversial Mark Beck goals for Solihull as the game headed to a shoot-out and Brown won it in sudden death.

The match-up would have been Gateshead’s play-off semi-final game, but the Moors got a bye after Gateshead were thrown out. It means Solihull have lost two Wembley shoot-outs in one week.

Gateshead fashioned two early chances and could have been ahead through Brown but his stretch to meet a cross flashed wide three minutes in.

It seemed to be a clash of two styles of play as Gateshead played the ball neatly through the midfield and looked to clip in chances for teenager Brown.

Solihull, contrastingly, played through their big centre-forward Beck, who previously had a successful spell at Darlington and was a threat simply because of his size.

In the 22nd minute Ed Francis was denied by a superb block on the line by Solihull’s Jay Benn, who turned Francis’ header from three yards out for a corner.

The London heat necessitated a drinks-break after 25 minutes and gave Gateshead boss Rob Elliot a chance to regroup his players after a couple of chances for Solihull.

The first half’s best chance came as Greg Olley was fed through just outside the box but the midfielder fired wide.

A flurry of half-chances in a lengthy stoppage time ended the half with Gateshead’s opener. A clipped ball into Brown was controlled well and his squared pass across the six-yard-box was poked home by Booty.

Inside the first ten minutes of the second half the ball seemed to develop a phobia of the net with both teams missing chances, the biggest being Nana Boateng’s close-range effort which was superbly stopped by Gateshead goalkeeper James Montgomery after 50 minutes.

Solihull’s Joe Newton found himself on the end of a knock-on down the left as the game entered the final 20 minutes.

Replays showed the initial knock-on came from an offside position, but it wasn’t flagged and with no VAR couldn’t be overturned. Newton’s subsequent cross was met by big-man Beck and nodded in.

In the final five minutes of the 90, Kieron Evans ran in on goal and looked to have been tripped illegally, but referee Sam Allison waved it away.

Extra time beckoned and Gateshead began in the same groove they ended the 90. Brown linked up well with substitute Evans who should have scored in extra-time’s first minutes.

In the 100th minute, Beck was brought down by Louis Storey off the ball and a penalty was given. Beck thumped the spot-kick home while Gateshead fans were still trying to work out what the penalty was given for.

A wonderful pass from Booty was perfect for Tom Allan who knocked it across the goal line and Brown couldn’t miss, sending the game to penalties.

In the shoot-out, it felt like no one wanted to win with both teams having a chance to win it, but Labadie and Allan both missed their match-winning strikes.

Alex Whitmore missed Solihull’s eighth penalty and teenager Brown won it with a cool penalty slotted into the bottom right.

Gateshead lifted the trophy they failed to win last year and gave fans something to cheer after a turbulent end to the season off the pitch.