Oliver Finney secured Hartlepool United a vital victory as battled from 1-0 down to pick up a 2-1 win against Swindon Town at the Suit Direct Stadium.
The away side took an early lead through Hepburn-Murphy and looked in control throughout the first half.
However in the second half of play, John Askey’s side scored two late goals which give Hartlepool United a famous win and a win that sees us only two points behind Crawley Town.
Starting Lineups
Hartlepool United were unchanged coming into Saturday’s game. Despite coming off injured last weekend, John Askey decided that Euan Murray was ready to start against Swindon Town. Following his injury, Tom Crawford returned to the bench and would later come on which was an emotional moment for him and all the fans.
Meanwhile, Swindon manager Jody Morris made one change to the side as Jacob Wakeling was dropped to the bench with Tyrese Shade starting.
First Half
The game started in the worst possible way for Hartlepool United, as a stunning strike from Rushian Hepburn-Murphy flew into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 to Swindon.
Swindon were dominating the possession in the first 10-15 minutes, but Pools had the greater opportunities. Josh Umerah came close to making the game level but was unable to get a decent shot on target. Next, Connor Jennings had a golden opportunity to draw the game level but his header flicked the top of the crossbar.
A great bit of passing play gave Callum Cooke a tap-in, but good defending from Swindon kept the visitors ahead going into the break.
Second Half
Jamie Sterry had a golden opportunity to make it 1-1 in the 58th minute having a shot impressively saved by goalkeeper Sol Brynn. It was Sterry again who was key for Hartlepool, as he prevented Hepburn-Murphy from doubling Swindon’s lead as he threw himself in front of the ball to block the shot and prevent Swindon from going 2-0 up.
Swindon then assumed that they had made it 2-0 after Charlie Austin headed in from a cross, however he was deemed to be offside.
The game flipped with three minutes to go at the Suit Direct Stadium, good play around the box allowed McDonald to find Jennings in the box who fired his shot into the roof of the net.
Then in the 90+4 minute, Oliver Finney drove through the middle of Swindon’s defence and smashed a shot into the bottom left corner into the net. The Suit Direct Stadium erupted as the midfielder was swamped by his teammates next to the Town End.
Pools are now only 2 points behind Crawley Town as John Askey continues to impress as Hartlepool United manager.
My Thoughts on the game.
I genuinely believed that was Hartlepool’s best performance of the season. The character and the ‘never say die’ attitude that they showed proves that the players are 100 percent committed to getting themselves out of this relegation dogfight.
They need to take this form into their final few games as Crawley and Colchester continue to slip and throw points away. Friday’s game against Grimsby could be their biggest of the season so far as 1200 Hartlepool fans will be watching them and praying they can pull of another performance like Saturday’s.
