Morecambe 1-0 Newport County (AET)
by Kadeem Simmonds
at Wembley Stadium

A CONTROVERSIAL Carlos Mendes Gomes penalty in extra-time saw Morecambe promoted to League One, despite replays suggesting the foul was outside the box.

Two years earlier it was an 119th minute penalty to Tranmere Rovers which saw Newport County fail to earn promotion from League Two. And the heartache felt eerily similar this afternoon.

Shrimps substitute John O’Sullivan appeared to have been bundled over just outside the box, but referee Bobby Madley pointed to the spot and the striker duly converted.

Both teams struggled to create a clear-cut chance in the opening 45 minutes, the match feeling like the early rounds of a championship boxing bout - plenty of blocked jabs but no attempt at a knock-out punch.

That being said, there was a moment of madness 10 minutes into the game when a long throw into the Newport County box saw goalkeeper Kyle Letheran attempt to clear the ball with both fists but instead connect square with Scott Bennett’s face.

Madley didn’t give a penalty for a move which has no place in football but fits in perfectly inside the squared circle.

There was a touching minute of applause after 34 minutes for Christian Mbulu, the defender passing away last May - Morecambe laid out his squad shirt on a chair with his picture above it.

The second half played out largely like the first, neither team having the required skill or composure to really grab the game by the scruff of the neck.

Newport’s Liam Shephard forced Letheren into a fine save to his right, tipping the ball round the post for a corner. But the set-piece ultimately came to nothing.

Shooting towards their fans, County began to push forward more frequently in the closing stages.

There was one final chance in added-time, Ryan Hayne’s free-kick tipped round the post by Letheren. But again, the resulting corner led a Morecambe free-kick for a foul on Liam Gibson.

With the scores level, Madley blew to signal the end of normal time and the match went into extra-time.

That the first booking of the game came in the 95th minute spoke volumes of the intensity the game was played at.

And Josh Labadie’s gilt-edge chance a minute before the end of the first-half of extra-time summed up the game.

When it was easier to score from yards out, Newport’s captain saw his effort sail over the bar.

And that miss proved costly when the start of the second-half of extra-time saw Madley point to the spot when O’Sullivan was bundled over in the box.

Mendes Gomes stepped up and sent King the wrong way to give Morecambe the lead.

Replays showed that O’Sullivan was felled just outside the box but with no VAR, a penalty was given and Newport County suffered once again at Wembley in the play-offs.