British Cypriot footballer Hector Kyprianou on Sunday captained his team Peterborough United to a 2-0 victory over Birmingham City to win the Vertu Trophy, England’s cup competition for third- and fourth-division clubs, in front of almost 72,000 fans at Wembley.

He also scored his side’s second goal on the stroke of half time, meeting a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area and lashing it past Birmingham goalkeeper Ryan Allsopp and into the top left-hand corner.

Earlier in the game, 19-year-old left back Harley Mills had given Peterborough the lead with an exquisite free kick which bounced in off the crossbar.

Peterborough’s victory is something of an underdog story, with their opponents having spent copious amounts of money on players, including £15 million (€17.4m) on striker Jay Stansfield – a record for England’s third tier, the league in which Birmingham and Peterborough both play.

Kyprianou celebrates at full time

At full time, Kyprianou wrapped himself in a Cypriot flag and made his way up the storied 107 steps to Wembley’s royal box to be presented with the Vertu Trophy.

With Sunday’s victory, Peterborough became the first club to win the trophy in back-to-back years, while their manager Darren Ferguson, the son of legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex, became the first manager to win it three times, having won it last year and in 2014 with the same club.

He also won it once as a player, with Wrexham in 2005.

Speaking after the game, Kyprianou said, “I’m so proud of everyone in this club. It’s been a tough season, and it was important for us to give something back to the fans because they’ve stuck with us all the way through”.

“Everyone wrote us off, today, everyone, the press, then all their supporters thought they were going to win it easy, so, the belief in this club means we tried our best and got it over the line … What a day.”