 The match took place at Wembley Stadium. | |||||||
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| After extra time | |||||||
| Date | 25 May 2019 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | Ross Joyce | ||||||
| Attendance | 25,217 | ||||||
| Weather | 22 °C (72 °F) (sunny) | ||||||
←2018 2020 → | |||||||
The2019 EFL League Two play-off final was anassociation football match which was played on 25 May 2019 atWembley Stadium, London, betweenNewport County andTranmere Rovers to determine the third and final team to gainpromotion fromEFL League Two toEFL League One. The top three teams of the2018–19 EFL League Two season gained automatic promotion to League One, while those placed from fourth to seventh place in the table took part in play-off semi-finals; the winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the2019–20 season in League One.
The game, which was refereed by Ross Joyce, was played on a warm sunny day in front of a crowd of 25,217. After a goalless first half, Newport's captainMark O'Brien was sent off after receiving a secondyellow card in the final minute of the second half. The match went intoextra time and one minute before full time, Tranmere'sConnor Jennings scored with aheader following across fromJake Caprice. The match ended 1–0 to Tranmere which secured them back-to-back promotions.
In their following season, foreshortened by theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Tranmere finished 21st in League One and were relegated back to League Two. Newport's next season saw them finish in 15th position in the League Two table.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln City | 46 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 73 | 43 | +30 | 85 |
| 2 | Bury | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 82 | 56 | +26 | 79 |
| 3 | Milton Keynes Dons | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 71 | 49 | +22 | 79 |
| 4 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 69 | 41 | +28 | 76 |
| 5 | Forest Green Rovers | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 68 | 47 | +21 | 74 |
| 6 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 63 | 50 | +13 | 73 |
| 7 | Newport County | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 59 | 59 | 0 | 71 |
Tranmere Rovers finished the regular2018–19 season in sixth place inEFL League Two, the fourth tier of theEnglish football league system, one place ahead ofNewport County. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places forpromotion toEFL League One and instead took part in theplay-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Tranmere finished six points behindMilton Keynes Dons andBury (who were promoted in third and second place respectively) and twelve behind league winnersLincoln City. Newport County ended the season two points behind Tranmere Rovers.[1][2]
Newport facedMansfield Town in their play-off semi-final. The first leg took place at Newport's home ground,Rodney Parade, on 9 May 2019. Mansfield took the lead early in the first half following combined play fromJacob Mellis andDanny Rose which allowedCJ Hamilton to strike the ball into the roof of Newport's net at the near post. Despite Mansfield's first-half dominance, Newport applied pressure in the second half, with a 70th minute strike fromRobbie Willmott being disallowed foroffside. Mansfield goalkeeperConrad Logan had made a number of second-half saves before bringing downAdebayo Azeez and conceding apenalty late in the game. Azeez's strike was saved by Logan beforePádraig Amond converted therebound, and the game ended 1–1.[3] The second leg of the semi-final was played three days later atField Mill in Mansfield. Newport dominated the first half, striking the Mansfield crossbar twice, but failed to convert any of their chances as it ended goalless. The second half was a more even competition but saves from both goalkeepers ensured the match ended 0–0 in regular time, forcing the tie intoextra time. The Newport goalkeeperJoe Day saved aTyler Walker shot whileRegan Poole blocked Rose's shot on the line. With no goals in extra time, the tie went to apenalty shootout. Day then saved Walker's spot kick while Newport converted all of theirs to win 5–3 in the shootout and progress to the final.[4]
The second play-off semi-final saw Tranmere Rovers take onForest Green Rovers with the first leg being held atPrenton Park in Tranmere on 10 May 2019. Forest Green'sGavin Gunning wassent off for kicking out atJay Harris. In the 25th minute,Ollie Banks' strike from 25 yards (23 m) scored via the underside of the Forest Green bar. The home side dominated possession andJames Norwood missed four chances to extend their lead but the match ended 1–0.[5][6] The semi-final second leg took place atThe New Lawn three days later. Aheaded goal from Forest Green'sJoseph Mills early in the first half levelled the tieon aggregate before Norwood put Tranmere back into the lead with avolley on 27 minutes.Carl Winchester was sent off for the home side after being shown a second yellow card and Tranmere held on to secure the draw, and the 2–1 aggregate victory.[6]
Tranmere had last played in the third tier of English football in 2014 while Newport had never played at that level.[5] Tranmere were making their first appearance in a fourth tier play-off final, but had featured in theFootball League Third Division play-offs twice, losing the1990 final 2–0 toNotts County and winning thefollowing year's final 1–0 againstBolton Wanderers in extra time.[7] Having been promoted into theEFL through the2018 National League play-off final, Tranmere were aiming to win back-to-back promotions.[8] Newport had been promoted to the EFL for the first time in their history when they won the2013 Conference Premier play-off final 2–0 againstWrexham.[9] Coming into the final, Newport had gone on an unbeaten 12-match run while Tranmere had failed to win any of their last four games.[10] Tranmere's squad included Norwood, League Two's Golden Boot winner with 29 goals, and goalkeeperScott Davies, the league's Golden Glove winner.[2][10] Amond and Matt had scored 43 goals in all competitions during the season for Newport.[2][11]
During the regular season, Newport had won 1–0 against Tranmere at Prenton Park in September 2018 and both clubs played out a goalless draw the following April.[12] The referee for the match was Ross Joyce,assisted by Nik Barnard and Rob Smith, with Eddie Ilderton acting as thefourth official and Matthew Lee thereserve assistant referee.[10] Neither team were changed from their play-off semi-final second legs, with Newport'sJamille Matt recovering from a leg injury.[11] There was no clear favourite to win with different bookmakers supporting both Tranmere and Newport.[13][14] Newport managerMichael Flynn noted prior to the game that there was "a lot of experience between the two squads at Wembley, which is quite surreal for League Two players. They have got a few good players – it is not just about James Norwood. We have to concentrate on what we can do as well."[11] His counterpart,Micky Mellon, said: "First and foremost we just want to get the performance right and hopefully that will be enough to help us to the next level. I think the experience of being here before will definitely help us but we still have to give the performance. We have to go and express ourselves. It should be a good battle."[11] Both English and Welsh national anthems were performed by soprano Emily Haig.[11] Newport played in their traditional amber and blackkit while Tranmere wore their white and blue home strip.[15]
Newportkicked the match off in front of a Wembley Stadium crowd of 25,217 at around 3 p.m. in sunny conditions and a temperature of 22 °C (72 °F). Inside a minute, Matt'sheader from aMickey Demetriou long throw was off target for Newport. In the seventh minute, a 30-yard (27 m) shot from Tranmere'sConnor Jennings was saved by Day in the Newport goal.Sid Nelson then handled the ball and the resultingfree kick was flicked on by Amond with Matt narrowly missing the ball at the far post. Three minutes later Jennings' curling shot went over the Newport goal. In the 16th minute, a long-range strike fromScot Bennett flew over Tranmere's crossbar. Midway through the half,David Perkins sent a ball through for the overlapping defenderJake Caprice who crossed to Norwood. The Tranmere striker struck a first time volley which was saved by Day, before the teams took their first-half drinks break. On 31 minutes, Nelson hesitated in defence and conceded which was almost converted byMark O'Brien at the far post after Newport had made an initial clearance.[11][15] With less than ten minutes of the half remaining, Day saved a low Perkins strike from around 20 yards (18 m).[11][16] In the 43rd minute, Perkins broke from midfield for Tranmere and passed to Harris whose cross was headed over the Newport goal by Norwood, and the half ended goalless.[16][17]
No changes were made by either side during the half-time interval and Tranmere kicked off the second half. In the 50th minute, Willmott's pass foundJosh Sheehan whose shot was blocked by Monthe and Nelson. Three minutes later, Tranmere made the firstsubstitution of the match, withBen Pringle coming on to replace Harris. In the 55th minute, Matt received the first yellow card of the game for impeding the Tranmere goalkeeper Davies as he tried to release the ball early after saving aDan Butler free kick. A minute later Day tipped a high cross from Pringle over the bar.Joss Labadie then shot wide for Newport before Tranmere'sLiam Ridehalgh saw his free kick strike the defensive wall and cleared.[16][17] In the 67th minute, O'Brien received the second yellow card of the game after a foul on Jennings. Soon after,Kieron Morris was brought down by Butler in the Newport box but the referee waved away the penalty appeals. In the 72nd minute, Newport made their first substitution of the match withMatthew Dolan coming on to replace Labadie. Two minutes later a cross from Butler was allowed to bounce in the Tranmerepenalty area but Matt's low header was tipped onto the post by Davies. Perkins was then booked for a push on Newport's Dolan beforeSteve McNulty replaced Morris in Tranmere's second substitution of the game.[17][18] With four minutes remaining, Monthe was brought down by Matt in the Tranmere penalty area but no penalty was awarded. In the last minute of regular time, Newport were reduced to ten men: O'Brien clashed with Norwood, and the Newport captain was sent off for a second yellow card. Three minutes into injury time, Banks played in Norwood but his shot was wide.[18][19] After five minutes of added time, the second half was brought to an end, still goalless, forcing the match into extra time.[19][20]
Tyreeq Bakinson became Newport's third substitute when he came on to replace Sheehan at the start of the first period of extra time. In a half of few chances, Tranmere's appeal for a penalty was denied with five minutes remaining when Norwood was brought down by Demetriou. Three minutes later, Newport made their third substitution with Matt being replaced by Azeez. A minute later, Davies made a comfortable save from a Willmott header and a subsequent chance from Amond. After a minute of injury time, the half was brought to an end with the score remaining 0–0. Before the start of the second half of extra time, Newport made their fourth and final substitution,Keanu Marsh-Brown coming on for Willmott. Within a minute of his introduction, Marsh-Brown's shot was saved by Davies. Norwood then went close, denied once again by Davies, before Banks' free kick was struck high over the Newport crossbar.[19][20] Two minutes later, Poole's foul on Jennings earned him a yellow card. In the 115th minute, Tranmere made their third substitution, withAdam Buxton coming on to replace Nelson. With three minutes of regular extra time remaining, Norwood's header from a Banks cross was saved by Day. In the 119th minute, the deadlock was broken as Tranmere took the lead through Jennings. Buxton beat Bakinson to create space and sent Caprice down the right wing. His cross to the back post went beyond Norwood but the unmarked Jennings headed the ball past Day to make it 1–0 to Tranmere. Two minutes of injury time were played during which Newport had a free kick which came to nothing, and the match ended with Tranmere victorious, winning back-to-back promotions.[19][21]
          Newport County |    Tranmere Rovers |
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Assistant referees: | Match rules[23]
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| Newport County | Tranmere Rovers | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 47% | 53% |
| Total shots | 22 | 23 |
| Shots on target | 5 | 6 |
| Corner kicks | 3 | 6 |
| Fouls committed | 18 | 20 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 1 |
| Red cards | 1 | 0 |
Winning goalscorer Jennings said: "We gave everything and we knew it was coming. To get back to back promotions is some achievement."[21] Mellon noted: "Let’s give every credit to both sets of players – Newport kept fighting. I’m absolutely delighted – the players gave me everything they had since Christmas and we're absolutely made up."[21] His opposite number Flynn bemoaned the refusal of Joyce to useVAR to review Monthe's challenge on Matt late in the second half: "We are at the home of football. We have all the VAR equipment. You’ve got referees who are full-time referees and a big decision killed us. It was a stonewall penalty and I can't believe it wasn't given ... It's a very poor decision ... If they are not going to use all the facilities at hand, what’s the point of having it here?".[24] Mellon's response was laconic: "I'm not going to bother with VAR, I just got promoted."[24]
Leagues One and Two were prematurely curtailed as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[25] In theirfollowing season, Tranmere finished 21st in League One, three points from safety and were relegated back toLeague Two.[26] Newport'snext season saw the club finish in 15th position in the League Two table, six places and eight points above the relegation zone but eight places and twelve points below the play-offs.[27]
