ANDY MORRISON was beaming from ear to ear after Connah’s Quay Nomads helped fulfil his late brother Ian’s wishes in dramatic fashion.

The Nomads manager revealed a conversation he’d had with his big brother, who passed away suddenly nearly four months ago, on what it would mean to reach the final.

And having seen his battling players hold their nerve to beat Edinburgh City 5-4 on penalties after 120 minutes of Scottish Challenge Cup semi-final action had finished 1-1, Morrison was bursting with pride.

After his Nomads became the first Welsh team to reach the final of the competition, Morrison said: “It’s fantastic. When we beat Queen’s Park at Hampden Park I went north to see my brother, who was in a bad way.

“He said to me ‘make sure you get to the final, I will be there to watch you’. I said that if we miss Ross County in the draw then we’ve got a chance and he said ‘I’ll be there’.

“He lasted another week and I am thinking about him. I am so proud. I know he will be looking down and smiling.”

Nomads, playing in-front of a record attendance of 1,068, were caught cold as Edinburgh struck inside the first two minutes, Josh Walker blasting a loose ball home after Blair Henderson’s shot had been smartly saved by John Danby.

But Nomads rolled their sleeves up and levelled through Michael Wilde, before going on to dominate almost the entire remaining 118 minutes.

Morrison said: “We looked a little bit dazed and our movements were poor, which allowed them to get in down the side and we are 1-0 down.

“It’s very, very hard to pick yourself up because they’ve got a 20 per cent lift and I’ve got to try and pick my lads up.

“But these are proper men, who want to play on that stage and they are relentless.

“Not just Connah’s Quay, but the whole of Welsh football should be proud because we’ve achieved something that TNS have failed to in the last two years.

“Edinburgh are a proper team packed with quality players, who will win the league and then they will go on and win the league again to get into the Scottish Championship. That’s how good their group of players are.”

The game was ultimately decided by the lottery of penalties, Callum Morris, Danny Harrison and John Disney’s spot-kicks matched by the visitors.

Michael Bakare put Nomads ahead for a fourth time, before Craig Thompson saw his effort saved by Danby.

But Wilde missed the chance to win it for Nomads, who saw Blair Henderson level the scores at 4-4.

The dominant George Horan stepped up and converted the first sudden death kick, before Danby kept out Ciaran Diver’s effort to win it for Nomads.

Morrison reflected: “We didn’t practice penalties. What’s meant to be will be. You just have to believe.”

The former Manchester City captain, who had watched TNS miss the chance to replace Nomads at the top of the table earlier on Saturday afternoon, paid tribute to the 1,000-strong crowd.

“It fills me with joy,” said Morrison. “A record crowd means a lot to me, I’m incredibly proud of that when I think of my first game here at home against Carmarthen, and we’ve always struggled with it.

“But the community has come here and we’ve given them something to go home with a smile on their face about.”

Nomads will face Ross County in the final of the competition on the weekend of March 23/24 at a venue that is yet to be decided. The winners will pocket £25,000 prize money with £17,500 for the losers of the final, which won’t be at Hampden Park.