What a difference a year makes.

Just 12 months ago, Andy Cooke was trying to banish the memories of a "season from hell".

Now he is five days away from spearheading his home-town club at a Wembley play-off final.

Cooke is the hero of Shrewsbury after scoring both goals against MK Dons to book their place against Bristol Rovers in Saturday's League Two decider.

It is a far cry from his time at City where, despite being a big hit with the fans, the hard-working forward never really hit it off.

A return of just six goals in his 16 months at Valley Parade saw him released by Colin Todd - and he had few complaints.

At the time, Cooke talked about going from "one nightmare to another" during a second term when nothing seemed to go right. How the picture has changed now.

Ironically, Cooke came off the bench during the second semi-final to partner fellow Bantams old boy Michael Symes in attack - and it was a well-judged pass from Symes which created his match-winning second.

"I just had a feeling throughout the day that I was going to score," said Cooke, who was born within 20 minutes of the club at Market Drayton.

"People have asked me how it compares with other things through my career but you don't live in the past. Scoring two goals to take your home-town club to Wembley - it doesn't get much better than that."

Cooke had been released by Shrewsbury as a 14-year-old but, after a career which included a brief spell in South Korea, he had grown fed up with travelling around and was desperate to get back nearer home once City let him go.

His first goal in a Shrews shirt was against City in pre-season when Cooke was still on trial. He did enough to earn a contract and delighted boss Gary Peters said: "Andy is the best finisher at the club by an absolute mile."

That might sound odd to City fans who remember Cooke's hold-up play but his reluctance to stick chances away.

But Friday night's double took his tally for the season to 12 - including two hat-tricks, both against Stockport - while Symes has bagged 13 goals.

Clear proof of how fortunes can quickly change. Let's hope that can be a positive omen for City.

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