MARK O’Brien will never have to buy a pint in Newport again after his 89th-minute goal saved Newport County AFC from relegation on an extraordinary Saturday night at Rodney Parade.
The defender was thrown up front with the Exiles drawling 1-1 with Notts County and needing a winner to stay above Hartlepool United, who beat promoted Doncaster Rovers.
What followed was the highlight of O’Brien’s career to date and a moment to live long in the memory of everyone who was there.
The 24-year-old Dubliner controlled David Pipe’s cross from the right on his chest and volleyed past Magpies goalkeeper Adam Collin to score his first Football League goal and, almost certainly, the most important of his career.
“Nothing compares to this – I will never forget this moment,” said O’Brien, who joined County from Luton Town in January.
“It is a highlight of my career – and it will live long in my memory.
“I’m going to watch that goal over and over again – I will show it to everybody at home. I’m not going to live this down “I can’t put into words the feeling when I scored the goal – at one stage I forgot I scored it because everyone was going crazy.
“It got us where we needed to be so it’s more for the team than myself.”
Mickey Demetriou had put Michael Flynn’s men ahead from the penalty spot on 32 minutes after Lenell John-Lewis was fouled in the box.
Jorge Grant levelled on 62 minutes and relegation rivals Hartlepool fought back to beat Doncaster.
But O’Brien’s late winner sealed a seventh win in 12 games under Flynn and epitomised the way they have battled to beat the drop.
“It’s what we’ve been about the last couple of months – we fight until the end,” said O’Brien.
“Words cannot explain it, we had the support of everyone behind us and its more for those fans than anything really.
“We pushed until the 95th minute whether Hartlepool were winning or losing and we ultimately got the result we deserved.
“I was screaming to the manager and asking if I could go up front. It ended up dropping to me and I just thought I have to blast this as hard as I can and thankfully it went in.
“When I was on the ground [celebrating] and you could feel the atmosphere of everyone and knowing what was at stake it was close to taking me to tears.
“You can see how the fans turned out in their numbers and it’s as much for the city as it is for us,” he added. “It means the world to everyone. The atmosphere during the game got us over the finish line.
“It’s a massive achievement.”
O’Brien was emotional as the game ended and fans invaded the pitch at Rodney Parade.
“On the final whistle, it nearly brought me to tears,” he said. “It brought joy, relief – there were that many emotions going through me.
“It was a huge weight off the shoulders, a huge sense of relief. It’s done now you can enjoy it.
“I don’t know how I will celebrate – I’m going to phone home, my family, my friends that left messages.”
O’Brien is one of many County players out of contract and he admits he does not know if he has played his last game for the club.
“To be honest, where my future lies at this moment in time I don’t know,” he said.
“I haven’t had talks, I just want to enjoy the moment for what it is.
“No-one wants to be in a relegation battle but at the end of the day we have a strong mentality and I don’t think we will be in this situation next season.
“When we get into next season, we will give it a real good push and well see where it takes us.
“I got brought here among 12 other lads to come in and make this club safe.
“It just goes to show with the personnel that he’s brought in plus what was here already, we just needed a lift and we’ve all pushed each-other and we got what we deserved.”
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