Kadeem Simmonds
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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 on Monday despite replays suggesting that the foul was outside the box.
Two years earlier it was an 119th-minute penalty for Tranmere Rovers that denied Newport County promotion from League Two, and the heartache here felt eerily similar.
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 felt like the early rounds of a championship boxing bout: plenty of blocked jabs but no attempt at a knockout punch.
That being said, there was a moment of madness 10 minutes into the game when a long throw into the Newport box saw goalkeeper Kyle Letheren attempt to clear the ball with both fists — but instead connect squarely with Scott Bennett’s face.
There was a touching minute of applause after 34 minutes for Christian Mbulu — the defender passed away last May — and 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 grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
Shooting towards their fans, County began to push forward more frequently in the closing stages. But with the scores level, Madley blew to signal the end of normal time.
That the first booking of the game came in the 95th minute spoke volumes for the intensity at which it was played.
Joss Labadie’s gilt-edge chance a minute before the end of the first half of extra-time, likewise, summed up the match: when it was easier to score from yards out, Newport’s captain saw his effort sail over the bar.
That miss proved costly when, at the start of the second half of extra time, Madley pointed to the spot after deciding that O’Sullivan had been bundled over in the box.
Mendes Gomes stepped up and sent Tom King the wrong way to give Morecambe the lead.
Replays showed that O’Sullivan had been felled just outside the box. But with no VAR, the penalty stood and Newport County suffered once again at Wembley in the play-offs.
