James goes from villain to hero as Hartlepool seal it
SHOOT-OUT hero Brad James thanked his team-mates for “digging me out” as Hartlepool returned to the Football League in a dramatic tale of two goalkeepers.
Manager Dave Challinor was in tears and celebrity fan Jeff Stelling was on the pitch joining the players’ celebrations as Pools scrambled back into the EFL after a four-year absence.
On another day, Torquay’s Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Covolan would have been the toast of Devon after his sensational
AET; H’POOL WIN 5-4 ON PENS
stoppage-time equaliser and then saving two kicks in the penalty shoot-out.
But the Gulls could not take advantage as BillyWaters slipped, shanking his kick miles wide, before Danny Wright hit the bar.
James, who touched Matt Buse’s spot-kick on to the bar after being at fault for Covolan’s last-gasp goal, said: “We thought it was gone.
“But the lads never gave up and worked so hard.A credit to these lads –they dug me out for that last goal.
“If I stayed [on my line] I’d have saved it. If we lost, I wouldn’t have slept for a week.”
Luke Armstrong put Hartlepool ahead 10 minutes before the break, crashing his shot on the turn in off the bar from close range.
And Torquay, who agonisingly had two Kyle Cameron headers disallowed, equalised through Covolan’s glancing header, barely 90 seconds from the end of six added minutes.