LAST-GASP WALKER IS A SAVIOUR FOR CARDS
LEWIS Walker’s second goal in as many games kept Woking above the bottom four as they snatched a dramatic late draw at home to Hartlepool.
The Cards striker saw his injury-time header saved by Pools goalkeeper Joel Dixon, but reacted quickly to ram the rebound emphatically into the net and earn Michael Doyle’s men a valuable point.
Joe Grey’s early strike seemed to have secured the visitors a fourth win in five games, but they paid the price for dropping deep in the second half and eventually Woking’s pressure told.
“The boss said at halftime ‘keep going, we’re still in the game’,” said Walker. “We tried to get the ball wide and in the box more and that’s where the goal came from. It came back to me and I just put it in the roof of the net.
“Hartlepool played a bit more on the counter but I felt we dealt superbly with that at the back and got our rewards.
“This is probably my first run of games in a long time, so I’m really enjoying being back. I just hope the goals keep going in.”
Woking might have taken an early lead when Dennon Lewis headed Jayden Luker’s ball back across goal, but Ricky Korboa snatched his finish wide – and Pools quickly capitalised on that let-off.
Just five minutes later, they put together a slick attacking move and Callum Cooke timed his pass perfectly for overlapping leftback David Ferguson, who whipped a low ball in for Grey to turn neatly beyond Alexis Andre Jr.
However, the Cards’ keeper did well to prevent Grey making it 2-0 after the young forward galloped onto another precision Cooke pass as the visitors countered from inside their own penalty area.
Controversy followed as Tom Crawford’s header struck the post and trickled over the line, only to be chalked off for a foul. That close call appeared to galvanise Woking, who dominated the latter stages of the first half. Lewis stung Dixon’s gloves for the first time but, despite some good patterns of play in the build-up, the home side lacked incision in the final third and that trend continued after the interval.
Woking penned Pools back but, although Curtis Edwards glanced a header wide from Luker’s cross, they failed to carve out any other clear opportunities until added time.
With players flooding the Pools penalty area, Edwards’ cross flew through a crowd to the far post and, although Walker’s initial effort was parried, his second thundered in off the crossbar.
Pools boss Kevin Phillips said: “When you’ve led for the majority of the game and you concede late on, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.
“But I’ve said to the players in there ‘get your heads up, we haven’t lost’. Two months ago, we’d probably have lost that game – the battling qualities we showed were phenomenal.”