Aaron Wildig returned to his former club to snatch all three points for Newport County in a tough encounter at the Mazuma Stadium.
Wildig, who spent seven years at Morecambe before switching to the Exiles, struck the crucial blow after nine minutes to earn the Exiles their third straight league win and first clean sheet of the campaign.
Newport had to dig deep for long periods in the second half as the home side applied all the pressure, but their heroic defence stood strong.
Head coach Nelson Jardim made one change to his starting XI from last Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Accrington Stanley.
Kyle Jameson replaced James Clarke in the heart of a three-man central defence after the club captain picked up a leg injury in midweek.
17-year-old academy graduate Nelson Sanca was promoted to the bench alongside new signing Noah Mawene who joined on loan from Championship side Preston North End in midweek.
Newport made a confident start as the away side as Anthony Glennon earned a corner in the fifth minute, but it came to nothing.
The visitors didn’t have to wait long for the opener though as Aaron Wildig, playing against his former club, blocked a poor clearance by Stuart Moore in the Morecambe goal and the midfielder rolled a cool finish under the ‘keeper with nine minutes gone.
Newport were keeping possession well and Glennon released Courtney Baker-Richardson in the 12th minute, but the striker fired narrowly wide.
Morecambe responded as Jordan Slew fired just over and Gwion Edwards shot inches wide of Nick Townsend’s near post after cutting inside from the right, before forcing the Newport ‘keeper into a save from the edge of the box.
It sparked a good period of pressure for the home side with Edwards again forcing Townsend to tip his shot over, before Baker-Richardson and Edwards found themselves in the referee’s notebook after a scuffle on the touchline with 32 minutes gone.
The pressure nearly paid off as Morecambe should have equalised in the 42nd minute as Edwards forced a fantastic save from Townsend who pushed his fierce shot over the bar from 10 yards.
Newport settled things down though and went in at the break with a 1-0 lead.
Half-time: Morecambe 0 Newport County 1
With no changes at the break, the home side remained on the front foot as Yann Songo’o curled a shot just wide three minutes after the restart.
And they thought they had levelled matters in the 53rd minute after Hallam Hope slid in to slot home a free-kick, but the linesman flagged for offside.
And Newport had Townsend to thank again in the 58th minute as he produced another excellent save to deny Callum Jones with a 25-yard free-kick.
The visitors were looking to stem the tide as they brought on Noah Mawene on the hour for his debut. He replaced Bryn Morris in midfield and picked up a yellow card within minutes for a foul.
Morecambe made a triple substitution five minutes later in a bid to get something out of the game as Paul Lewis, Lee Angol and Ben Tollitt replaced Harvey Macadam, Hallam Hope and Jordan Slew.
Bobby Kamwa saw yellow in the 72nd minute for kicking the ball away as Newport were trying to slow things down to ease the pressure, before Kieran Evans replaced the booked winger with 15 minutes remaining. Former Newport loanee Adam Lewis also came on for David Tutonda.
Townsend added to the yellow card count for time-wasting before Newport created their first chance of the half with 10 minutes remaining as Evans drove a dangerous ball across the box only for Baker-Richardson to see his goal-bound shot blocked.
Baker-Richardson headed a Glennon free-kick just wide seconds later before Morecambe went back on the attack with a string of corners and free-kicks only for the Newport defence to stand strong.
Jamie Stott missed a glorious chance for the home side, before Evans showed tremendous skill to break clear before being brought down on the edge of the area. Glennon fired the free-kick just over.
Newport withheld everything Morecambe threw at them though to record a battling victory.
Full-Time: Morecambe 0-1 Newport County
Newport County: Townsend, McLoughlin, Baker, Jameson, Brennan, Glennon, Wildig (C), Morris, Antwi, Kamwa, Baker-Richardson
Substitutes: Carney, C.Evans, Sanca, Mawene, K.Evans, Rai, Jephcott
Morecambe: Moore, Tutonda, Stott, Williams, Hendrie, Jones, Songo’o (C), Edwards, Macadam, Slew, Hope
Substitutes: Burgoyne, White, A.Lewis, Millen, Tollitt, Angol, P.Lewis