WESSEX LEAGUE DIVISION 1 PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL
NEWPORT 2, FOLLAND SPORTS 2
(Newport win 5-4 on penalties)
NEWPORT Football Club may have had an often torrid time off the pitch this season, but they are on the brink of earning a place at the Wessex League top table after they beat Folland Sports on penalties in the Division 1 play-off semis last night (Wednesday).
When this play-off semi-final went into injury time after 120 minutes of pretty turgid fare, no one coud have imagined the drama that unfolded before and after the final whistle, with Port's evergreen keeper, Gary Streeter, the shoot-out hero.
Read: Newport book place in play-off final after dramatic end to semi
After two close matches played between the sides in the league this season, with Newport edging it with a win and a draw, it was always going to be close this time around — especially with the carrot of a Premier place at stake.
The crowd of around 200 at Smallbrook Stadium watched a scrappy first 15 minutes, which set the tone.
There was an air of expectation when free-kick supremo, Josh Younie, was in the perfect spot to score one of his wonder goals from 25 yards out, but his shot hit the wall and flew over.
After Streeter made a hash of a straightforward shot, which struck his chest and went for a corner, his team-mates fashioned two good headed chances — the first from Aaron Burford and then Joe Craig, both flying over.
When it looked almost certain it would end goalless at half-time, Folland took a shock lead — a corner bundled in via the bar — on 40 minutes.
But a minute before the interval, Craig delightfully guided his header home from a pinpoint Younie free kick.
Although Newport looked more of an attacking threat as the game began to open up, they failed to trouble the keeper, who had a very well-drilled defence in front of him.
Folland then took the sting out of the game when one of their players had prolonged treatment for an injury, which transformed the game into a scrappy affair, much like the first half was, until the game went into extra time.
As the tiredness of the players began to show, the quality of the game deteriorated further as the prospect of a penalty shoot-out loomed.
But within seconds of the fourth official indicating four added minutes, Newport seized on a defender's mistake to score and make it 2-1.
It was route one — Streeter kicked long and the centre back misjudged the bounce, from which quick-thinking Craig lobbed the advancing keeper.
With substitute Scott Sampson a colossus at the back, Folland looked to have run out of steam, but a free kick floated into Port's box led to a rash challenge, for which the ref immediately pointed to the spot.
It was a brave, but correct-looking decision, which led to the visitors scoring with literally the final kick of the game, to the disbelief and anger of Newport fans — 2-2.
With Folland on a high after their match-saving spot kick, the odds were with them on winning the lottery of a penalty shoot-out.
But after it went 3-3 on penalties, Streeter kept his cool and saved the next penalty with his feet — a dog's incredibly loud bark as the player was about to shoot may have helped Newport at that vital moment!
Two further penalties were scored, which left Connor Kelly, a regular match-winner who was strangely anonymous throughout the game, stepped up to smash home the all-important fifth penalty to book a home play-off final against in-form Laverstock and Ford, who have a day extra to recover after beating Andover New Street 3-0 on Tuesday night.
- For a full match report, with pictures, view the County Press tomorrow (Friday).
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