NEWPORT REACHED THE League Two play-off final in dramatic style despite losing a thrilling semi-final second leg to Forest Green.
There was just a minute left of extra time when substitute Nicky Maynard cheekily clipped the ball past Forest Green keeper Luke McGee and rolled it into the empty net, leaving County 5-4 aggregate winners despite losing 4-3 on the night.
They will face Morecambe at Wembley on Monday, 31 May with a place in League One on the line.
Newport – who saw Irish striker Padraig Amond substituted on 45 minutes – led 2-0 from Tuesday’s first leg but Rovers made the perfect start on Sunday, wiping out the deficit inside eight minutes.
The opener came when Nicky Cadden’s free-kick on seven minutes picked out Ebou Adams 10 yards out and he guided his header beyond keeper Tom King.
Less than a minute later it was Baily Cargill’s inch-perfect cross that did the damage with Aaron Collins – whose brother Lewis scored Newport’s second on Tuesday after Matty Dolan’s stunning opener – providing the finish with a first-time shot that squeezed past the Exiles keeper.
Having suffered a nightmare opening, the visitors eased their way back into the game and created a number of chances themselves.
Ryan Haynes had a long-range effort blocked, with Anthony Hartigan putting another chance over the target from distance. Then on the half-hour, a cross from Aaron Lewis picked out Mickey Demetriou but the defender failed to keep his header on target.
Both sides had penalty claims waved away by referee Martin Cox late in the half. Lewis Collins appeared to be shoved over for the visitors while at the other end, Aaron Collins went to ground as he looked to round the keeper which earned him a booking for simulation.
Aaron Collins was proving a handful for the Newport defence and he almost made it 3-0 in added time only for his shot to be pushed onto the bar by keeper King.
Forest Green did take the overall lead soon after the restart. Exiles boss Michael Flynn made a double change at the break with the introduction of midfielder Joss Labadie and striker Ryan Taylor, but it was a defensive error that cost them as Cadden’s 30-yard free-kick eluded everyone and ended up in the back of the net.
More changes followed for the visitors, including the arrival of 42-year-old Kevin Ellison, and it was the veteran who levelled the tie on aggregate with a stunning 25-yard effort that went in off the underside of the bar on 70 minutes. Ellison will surely relish the chance to lock horns with his former club Morecambe at Wembley, having raucously celebrated his goal in March’s regular-season meeting.
With both sides looking for a winner, Cargill was inches away for Rovers with a header that was cleared off the line but on 76 minutes, Labadie scored Newport’s second on the night when he turned in Haynes’ cross from the left flank.
But the tie was forced into extra time when Forest Green’s Jamille Matt, playing his first game in nearly two months after injury, steered an Odin Bailey cross home from six yards.
Maynard missed a chance to score early in extra time but made amends with his last-gasp effort to wrap up a Wembley appearance.
Morecambe booked their place in the play-off final earlier in the day with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Tranmere
The Shrimps, who missed out on automatic promotion by one point on the final day of the season, took a vital lead through Aaron Wildig in only the ninth minute of the game and held on to that advantage until James Vaughan pulled a goal back early in the second half to make it 1-1 on the day.
Tranmere went close to taking the lead after eight minutes when Vaughan made space for himself in the box and headed a pinpoint cross from Liam Ridehalgh against the top of the Morecambe crossbar.
But Morecambe’s Liam McAlinden soon threaded a perfect pass through to Wildig, who took the ball in his stride and fired into the bottom right hand corner from 12 yards out.
The home side looked dangerous on the counter-attack throughout and Tranmere skipper Peter Clarke made a goal-saving clearance to stop a Carlos Mendes Gomes cross from finding Stockton in the six-yard box.
Morecambe skipper Sam Lavelle headed a corner onto the roof of the net and Mendes Gomes tested Murphy from distance before Tranmere hit back towards the end of the half when Paul Lewis forced Kyle Letheren into a fine save low to his right with a smartly struck volley.
The second half saw Tranmere caretaker boss Ian Dawes change his tactics, with the experienced David Nugent coming off the bench and making an immediate impression as he played a part in Tranmere’s leveller in the 53rd minute.
The former England striker headed down a Liam Feeney corner into the path of Vaughan, who bundled the ball home from close range.
The visitors maintained the pressure from there and were denied a second when Manny Monthe’s close-range header was superbly saved by Letheren to his left-hand side.
The home keeper was then involved again with another fine late save from Kayne Woolery’s long-range effort to ensure Derek Adams’s side reached their first ever Football League play-off final.
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