Newport County’s golden oldies Kevin Ellison and Nicky Maynard plan to prove themselves the patron saints of the written off and rejected when they grace Wembley today.
The senior strike partnership have a combined age of 76, but Morecambe would be wise to respect their elders when they face the pair in the League Two play-off final.
Ellison – the bald Scouser who was dumped by Morecambe boss Derek Adams – became a hero to every middle-aged bloke in the land when the 42-year-old scored a brilliant goal in the second leg of County’s semi-final against Forest Green Rovers.
Maynard, a comparatively youthful 34, then calmy slotted the winner as Newport sealed a 5-4 aggregate victory on the same day that Phil Mickelson became the first golfer to win a major in his 50s.
“I saw a few tweets after the game where people had stuck me next to pictures of Phil Mickelson and I’m hoping I can carry that winning link into Monday,” says Ellison, who was working in a factory before Newport boss Mike Flynn drafted him in.
“Like Mickelson, I look after myself better than when I was young. I was never a major lover of drink, but if I had a drink I’d be sick for three days. Now, if I have a drink, I’m sick for six days so I’ve given it up.
“I eat more, but I eat healthy stuff. I don’t put weight on because even away from football I’m doing my yoga and spin classes and I was swimming a lot before lockdown.
“I look after myself better, I eat better and I recover better. I am into my yoga which always helps with my mental health. So, I have changed a lot of things in a way.
“I changed them because I felt I needed to if I was going to keep up with the lads in the dressing room. Certain things had to change and I’m still playing so I must be doing some things right.
“I have been thinking over the last few weeks, am I really now pushing at my limits? Sometimes, I think I am but being Kevin Ellison I also think I could push a bit more.
“But I look at what I have got and what I can offer to the dressing room and I think I’m squeezing out every last drop of ability that I have. I am 42 but I continue to try and better myself every day and try and learn new things every day.
“I think still I can push myself a little bit further.
“Some of the lads here tell me they weren’t even born when I started my professional career, It’s crazy.”
Former West Ham striker Maynard, on loan from Mansfield, has unfinished business in Wales after his spell in the Premier League with Cardiff City ended through injury and the arrival of Russell Slade as manager to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Maynard only played 22 games for Cardiff and admits: “I was gutted it didn’t work out as well as I would have liked at Cardiff but you can’t dwell on things in football. You have to move forward.”
The Chesire-born striker moved to the Bluebirds back in 2012 in a £2.5m deal from West Ham, but injuries and the managerial churn at the club cost him any hope of fully establishing himself and we was eventually sent out on loan to Wigan.
“I started the season well after I first went to Cardiff, but then did my cruciate ligament which wasn’t ideal.
“I was out for eight months, got back fit but a new manager came in and he wanted his own players.
“Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the manager at the time and he wanted me to go on loan to get my fitness back up.
“I went to Wigan and did well. Then I came back to Cardiff but they were relegated back to the Championship and Solskjaer ended up leaving.
“The new manager (Russell Slade) wanted his own players and that’s football. I was gutted it didn’t work out as well as I would have liked at Cardiff but you can’t dwell on things in football. You have to move forward.
“I am at the age where I know how to maintain my body. At my age, it’s more important than ever to rest well and prepare well and I make sure I do that.
“I feel fit and healthy and although it’s been hard to get into this Newport team, I have made sure I was ready when I got my chance.
“Hopefully, I have given the gaffer food for thought for Monday and so has Kevin.”
Newport did the double over Morecambe in the regular season, including a 3-1 win at the Globe Arena clinched by Ellison’s goal that ended with the striker sprinting to the dug-out to confront Adams.
Ellison says: “I made my point to him, but that’s in the past and all I’m thinking about is winning the final.”
Match facts
Morecambe have lost each of their last three League Two matches against Newport County, one more than in their first 13 meetings with the Exiles (W7 D4 L2).
For only the second time in the last 13 seasons, the League Two play-off final will be contested by the teams who finished fourth and fifth in the table; the other was Southend and Wycombe’s 1-1 draw in the 2015 final, with the Shrimpers winning 7-6 on penalties.
Morecambe are looking to reach the third tier of English football for the first time, having played 14 consecutive seasons in League Two since 2007-08. The Shrimps have played more seasons in the Football League without playing higher than the fourth tier than any other side.
Newport County haven’t won Football League promotion since the 1979-80 season, when they finished third in the fourth tier. The Exiles haven’t played in the third tier since 1986-87 and suffered a 1-0 defeat in the 2018-19 League Two play-off final to Tranmere Rovers in their only previous Football League play-off final appearance.
Morecambe have won their only two previous appearances at Wembley, winning the 1974 FA Trophy final against Dartford and the 2007 Conference play-off final against Exeter City. They are one of only seven club sides to have played more than once at Wembley winning every visit to the national stadium.
Newport have lost three of their four matches at Wembley, losing to York City in the 2012 FA Trophy final, Spurs in an FA Cup replay in February 2018 and Tranmere in May 2019 in the League Two play-off final. Their one previous win at the stadium came in the 2013 Conference play-off final, beating Wrexham with current boss Michael Flynn in the starting XI that day.
Morecambe manager Derek Adams is looking for his second promotion from League Two, having led Plymouth Argyle to automatic promotion in 2016-17. However, Adams suffered defeat in his only previous Football League play-off final, losing 2-0 with Argyle against AFC Wimbledon in 2015-16.
Newport County’s 42-year-old forward Kevin Ellison is the top scoring player in Football League meetings between Morecambe and Newport (7), scoring six times for Morecambe and once for Newport in their 3-1 win over the Shrimps earlier this season; no other player has more than three goals in games between the sides.