Liverpool loanee Lewis' touching tribute after Newport goal

The Newport County AFC left-back scored his first goal since August, and first of the season in open play, to put his side 2-0 up in the remarkable 5-3 win against Morecambe.

The 24-year-old ran to the corner, kissed the tattoo on his left forearm and then pointed towards the sky.

Lewis’ well-timed goal allowed him to make a special dedication to his nan, Pauline, who died at the weekend.

“I’ve had a tough week,” said the Scouser. “I dedicated the goal to her, the whole family know, I’ve had tonnes of messages.

“My nan looked after me when I was young most of the time and I found out after the game at Stockport on Saturday that she passed away, so that goal was for her.

“It’s always emotional when you lose someone in your family but the gaffer put his trust in me and said ‘go out and do what you do’. That’s what I did.

“She was very close to me, I lost my granddad a year ago and she passed away on the weekend.”

DELIGHT: Adam Lewis scored for Newport County against Morecambe (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

There were certainly no signs of Lewis’ tough times against Morecambe.

The left wing-back was a bundle of energy and not only did he score with a controlled volley from Bryn Morris’ cross but he notched a pair of assists.

The second was just a header that set Seb Palmer-Houlden free at the death but the first was a peach, whipping in a ball for Aaron Wildig to make it 3-1.

Lewis is targeting a strong finish to a campaign that featured a frustrating three-month spell on the sidelines because of a quad injury suffered at the end of September.

“The gaffer has trusted me and the coaching staff have managed me very well and didn’t just throw me in,” said Lewis.

“I got minutes under my belt and hopefully I can stay in the team until the end of the season.

“The wing-back role is hard, especially with the way the manager wants us to play because it’s non-stop.

“But I’ve got those minutes into my legs and when I do blow, we’ve got people coming off the bench like Matty Bondswell.

“We’ve got a great squad for the budget we’ve got and I think we can challenge for the play-offs.”

County are on the fringes of the tussle for the top seven but they will be in the thick of it if they win this weekend.

They travel to seventh-placed AFC Wimbledon, who are five points above them having played a game in hand more.

RETURN: Adam Lewis has strung together the games since returning from injury at the start of the year (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

“I don’t think the play-offs have come into our mind once,” said Lewis. “Especially as everyone wrote us off at the start of the season with the budget we have.

“It’s the character we’ve got in the changing room, it’s incredible. We never give up and we never will.”

Whether Lewis will be part of that group for a third season is yet to be announced.

The loanee’s Liverpool contract expires this summer and he has previously said he was open to a permanent move to County, a point that he repeated on Tuesday.

"I love Newport, I've had chats with the gaffer and the club but I'll always have my options open," said Lewis.

"I'd love to stay here, I would, but that's something I've got to speak to the gaffer and the club about."