Newport County's Wembley win - 10 years on from promotion to EFL

Manager Justin Edinburgh guided Newport County back to the Football League

It is 10 years since Newport County secured a return to the Football League following a 25-year absence.

Welsh rivals Wrexham were the opponents at Wembley and Andy Morrell's side had created plenty of chances in the game.

But they were made to pay for those missed opportunities late on as Christian Jolley and Aaron O'Connor's goals secured a 2-0 win and promotion.

"When you've got those two threats up top that we had at that time it always gave us a chance," County's former midfielder Tony James recalls.

"And obviously the last 10 minutes told for us.

"The game itself is pretty much a blur if I'm honest. I couldn't really tell you too much that happened in it other than the last 10 minutes really.

"As a team we probably didn't play as we had done leading up to the play-off final.

"We had something within us that made us so determined to win the game."

Brett Ormerod should have put Wrexham ahead, but he fired over from six yards while Johnny Hunt was denied by Lenny Pidgeley.

But with four minutes of the 90 remaining, Jolley capitalised on a defensive error by David Artell before lifting the ball over advancing Wrexham keeper Chris Maxwell to make it 1-0.

Wrexham responded by laying siege in a desperate attempt to find an elusive equaliser.

"The one thing I remember is at the end when the goalkeeper [Maxwell] came up and caused a bit of confusion," Newport's captain that day David Pipe told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

"I remember panicking and thinking 'we've got to get through this'."

Newport got through it and substitute O'Connor sealed the win in stoppage time with his side's second to spark joyous scenes among the County fans.

It marked an emotional return for the club, who had been relegated from the Football League in 1988 and liquidation a year later before the formation of Newport AFC a year later.

"I remember looking to see where my family was, couldn't find them and then thought 'We've actually done it,' and seeing the boys celebrating," Pipe recalls of the immediate aftermath of the final whistle.

"I remember doing an interview thinking I'd rather be celebrating with my team rather than doing the interview because as captain I had to step aside and do that."

But the anniversary of Newport's return to the Football League is tinged with sadness.

Justin Edinburgh, County's manager that day, died suddenly aged 49 in 2019 only a few weeks after he had guided Leyton Orient's promotion to the Football League.

"He made me his captain and we had a great relationship, both on and off the field," Pipe said of Edinburgh, who had won the FA Cup and League Cup as a player at Wembley with Spurs.

"He was obviously a very knowledgeable man and confident; confidence you can they take on to the pitch.

"That's probably another reason why at the end we still had that belief because of the manager of the side.

"He deserves a lot of credit for it."

James, who also played for Hereford and is the father of Wales and Birmingham City player Jordan James, also remembers Edinburgh fondly.

"When you look at the team he put together during that season, you're looking at a lot of misfits to be honest," James said.

"For him to put that much confidence in all of us at that time to achieve something we all desperately wanted and to see it out, it could only have come from him to be honest."