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Entertainment

On A Day Full Of Title-Deciders, Newport And Forest Green Rovers Played The Game Of The Year

By Liam Hanley May 24, 2021
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If you enjoy seven-goal thrillers, 119th minute winners or world-class strikes from 42-year-olds, then this was the match for you.
@FGRFC_Official | Twitter

A steady rain fell in Nailsworth, England on Sunday afternoon for the second leg of the League Two playoff semifinal between Forest Green Rovers and Newport County. The deluge began well before the opening kickoff and continued after the sky darkened and the floodlights illuminated the New Lawn Stadium.

At times, the constant downpour obscured the television camera lens with magnified droplets of water, giving viewers at home the impression that they were wearing a rain poncho alongside the 1,200 home supporters in the partially-covered stands.

Lovely footballing conditions Lovely weather for some footy

A taste of the view many fans had for Sunday's League Two Playoff Semifinal

The pitch quickly became soaked through, and every movement by the 22 players on the field kicked up excess water and exposed the deepening puddles.

The match was overshadowed by almost every other contest that took place on Sunday — it was bookended by the conclusions of the Premier League, Serie A and Ligue 1 campaigns, and was played almost simultaneously with the final matchday of the La Liga season.

But despite the lack of fanfare and the less than ideal footballing conditions, the rainy match in Nailsworth turned out to be the best 120 minutes of football of the weekend and included some of the finest drama of the entire season.

Great weather at the New Lawn Stadium

A glimpse of the rainwater gathering pitchside at the New Lawn Stadium

Newport County dispatched Forest Green 2-0 in the first leg of the playoff semifinal on Tuesday with a thoroughly dominant home performance. The Exiles easily could have put the tie even further out of reach if not for numerous missed chances in the second half.

The two-goal lead seemed sturdy but not impervious, and after the first ten minutes it was clear that Newport would have an onerous 90 minutes ahead.

In the seventh minute, Forest Green Rovers cut the lead in half when midfielder Ebou Adams flicked home a header from a well-placed out-swinging corner. Rovers fans erupted and the momentum suddenly shifted in favor of the home side.

On the ensuing kickoff, Forest Green won possession off the initial Newport long ball and immediately pushed up field. Exactly 60 seconds after Adams' opener, the ball was in the back of the net for Forest Green Rovers and the semifinal was tied on aggregate.

Billy Cargill's cross from the left wing found the right boot of attacker Aaron Collins, and Collins' cushioned volley snuck under the right hand of Newport keeper Tom King.

Not only did Aaron Collins' goal even up the scoreline, but it also canceled out the goal scored by his brother Lewis, a striker for Newport who netted County's second goal in the first leg of the tie.

The rest of the first half was a cagey affair. Newport settled back into the match and had an extended period of pressure, but couldn't convert, while Aaron Collins had another great opportunity for Rovers before the half, but his shot was deflected onto the crossbar and away from danger.

Neither side had any chances to begin the second period, but in the 53rd minute, Nicky Cadden's curled free kick from the right wing avoided both the heads of his Rovers attackers and those of the Newport defenders, bouncing once inside Tom King's six-yard area and skidding into the back of the net.

Once down 2-0 and thoroughly on the back foot, Forest Green Rovers was now ahead 3-2 on aggregate and less than 40 minutes away from a trip to Wembley.

Having made a double change at halftime, Newport manager Michael Flynn brought on two more substitutes — including 42-year-old winger Kevin Ellison. 

Ellison made his professional debut with Southport in 1996, before some of his teammates were even born. He made 23 League Two appearances for Newport on the season, although he was only named in the starting lineup twice, contributing two goals in the process.

The 42-year-old made an impact after less than 10 minutes on the pitch. Goalkeeper Tom King launched a free kick upfield, which was flicked on by Newport's Ryan Taylor and to the feet of Ellison.

Ellison chested down the ball, took one touch, then hit a perfectly placed curling strike that sailed over the head of the helpless Luke McGee, hit the bar, and bounced down over the goal line. 

The Liverpool native was a record-breaker. At 42 years old he was the oldest player to ever score in a Football League playoff.

The match was far from other though, and six minutes later, Joss Labadie — another substitute — side-footed home a Ryan Haynes cross to give Newport a 4-3 lead on aggregate. 

The home crowd was left stunned, as the tie was once again turned upside down in the space of just a few minutes. Forest Green Rovers now had 15 minutes to save its season.

The final quarter of an hour was sloppy and play was concentrated in the center of the pitch. In the 87th minute, a long ball fell to Odin Bailey on the left wing — an area that Rovers had exploited all night. 

Bailey took two dribbles forward before whipping in a dangerous cross with his left foot to the edge of the six yard area. The ball reached top-scorer Jamille Matt, who dove forward to prod home the ball with his right boot and tie the match on aggregate. 

After 180 minutes had been played across the two legs of the League Two Playoff Semifinal, the tie was still level on aggregate, and another 30 minutes was needed to separate the teams.

Newport had two good chances in the early part of extra time, including Nicky Maynard's free header from seven yards out right in front of goal, but neither side could score, and the overtime periods largely succumbed to sloppy play — a result of both fatigue and the increasingly sloppy conditions.

Penalties seemed inevitable, but a moment of magic in the 119th minute finally settled the match for good.

Newport's Lewis Collins chipped a ball through to Nicky Maynard, who ran on at the edge of the penalty area. Maynard, a 34-year-old striker with significant experience at the Championship level with a number of clubs, reached the ball before the onrushing Luke McGee, touching it around the Rovers keeper and slotting home ahead of the desperate sliding challenge of Dominic Bernard.

With only one minute left in extra time, there would be no more drama; Newport County was through to Wembley. A victory against Morecambe in the League Two Playoff Final on May 29th will promote the club to League One for the first time since its reformation in 1989.

The man of the match award was given to the ageless Kevin Ellison, whose opening goal started the comeback for the Welsh side.

While most soccer fans were following the races for league titles and Champions League spots in England, Spain, Italy and France, arguably the best football of the day was played in a town of 5,700 hundred people in Gloucestershire, England. 

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