Pools leave it late!!
Saturday, February 10th, 2007
Attendance: 15,247
Hartlepool v Walsall
Hartlepool are now unbeaten in 15 games and are the team everyone in League Two has to fear. Polls enforced that with an incredible 3-1 win over league leaders Walsall. Two late goals gave pools a win that takes them into second place in League Two.
After winning at Swindon last week some folks thought that the game against Walsall would be plain sailing. However, Walsall took the lead in the third minute before either side had really got used to the strong wind blowing across the pitch. A corner was only half cleared by the home defence, and when it was returned to the penalty area, Martin Butler was unmarked on the right. With the Hartlepool players appealing for offside, Butler controlled the ball well and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner from 15 yards.
The home team battled to recover from the shock, but struggled to create chances until the 21st minute, when a weak Walsall clearance landed at the feet of Richie Barker on the edge of the area. But a weak shot was well saved by the Walsall goalie.
On the half-hour there was a massive scramble in the Walsall area as Hartlepool had a string of shots blocked by a packed defence; Pools were on the march and pounding Walsall’s defence.
Just before the break, Eifion Williams tried a shot from more than 30 yards which was just off target and the first half ended with Hartlepool piling on the pressure again.
After the break the constant pressure told as Pools took just seven minutes into the second half to level with defender Michael Nelson powering in a great header from a corner.
Pools stayed on top for the remainder of the game, but struggled to find a way through - until a dramatic late finish.
Two minutes from the end a free-kick 25 yards out and right in front of goal was taken short for Richie Humphreys to curl a great shot round the wall and just inside the right-hand post of diving keeper Ince; and it was not over for the delighted home crowd as striker Barker stabbed home a third in the last minute after a great run by Antony Sweeney.
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