6:30pm GMT Kick Off, The New Lawn, League Two Playoff Semi Final 2nd Leg
A game with a flurry of goals saw Newport edge Forest Green after extra time as they head to Wembley.
Newport found themselves 3-0 down before pulling the tie back into their favour. Matt drew the game level just before the full time whistle. The game headed into extra time were Nicky Maynard scored the vital goal to send his club to the Playoff final.
The winner of the game knew who they won’t be playing ahead of kick off as Morecambe beat Tranmere in their tie.
Forest Green had the perfect start, pulling one back immediately. A corner from Nicky Cadden was met by the head of Ebou Adams who glanced it past the Tom King.
Things got even better for Forest Green as they got a second just a few seconds after the first. A ball was delivered into the box by Baily Cargill and Aaron Collins hit it on the volley past the keeper, as they made an electric start to the match as they made the score level on aggregate.
After the two early goals, Newport began to easy their way into the match, with Aaron Lewis causing problems down the right hand side, but the Forest Green defense were able to deal with the pressure.
Forest Green looked like they would have a third as Jamille Matt slotted the ball into the path of Collins who tried to take it past King, and when he did he fell over. However the referee deemed it as a dive.
Collins had another great chance to take the lead just before half time as he made a run down the line and beat the defender, his shot came just off the bar.
In the 52th minute, Forest Green completed the comeback thanks to Cadden. The winger took a free kick from 35 yards out and the ball went through a number of players. The keeper had no time to react as the ball found it’s way into the net.
Newport needed something special if they were to get themselves back into the game, and that piece of quality came from the 42-year-old Kevin Ellison. Ellison picked the ball out just outside the box and went for a curling effort which came off the underside of the crossbar, which pulled the Welsh side back into the match.
After Forest Green scored three and went ahead in the tie, Newport went back in front on aggregate with Joss Labadie getting in on the goals. The midfielder found room in the box, and his effort nestled in the bottom corner.
However, the goals didn’t stop as it was time for Forest Green to draw the game level, with an 87th minute goal from Matt. The ball was played it into the by Odin Bailey who had just come on. His cross was met by Matt who scored Forest Green’s fourth goal of the evening and with that goal, the game headed into extra time.
Nicky Maynard should have given Newport the lead once again. The Forest Green defenders switched off as Maynard was unmarked in the box, but somehow he missed the target from just 6 yards out.
With two minutes of extra time to go, Maynard scored a crucial goal. The ball was played over the top to Maynard who chipped the ball over Luke McGee and stuck the ball into the empty net.
Maynard came close to completely finishing the game off as the ball was played to him from the right wing. He put it onto his left foot and went for the far corner, but his shot came off the bar.
Man Of The Match: Nicky Maynard
There were a lot of goals and a lot of good performances, but Maynard earned the win for Newport, as he showed great composure at the end of the game.
The 34-year-old had a number of chances to finish the game off in extra time as he made a number of runs and created a number of chances, with his goal coming so late to give Newport the chance of League One football next season.
Final Whistle 