Goals from Ben Garrity and Tom Pett get the Valiants back to winning ways at a snowy Vale Park
The Valiants needed a response after Tuesday’s defeat. We had the first chance of the game on eight minutes. The ball ran across the 18-yard box into the feet of David Worrall whose first time shot went over the bar.
Before today the Pools had not won at Vale Park since 2007 but they started the better. Captain Nicky Featherstone took on a long-range strike from 30-yards but it went way over the bar.
We failed to score for the first time since August on Tuesday night so the Valiants were due a goal. Brilliant work from David Amoo stretching to stop the ball from crossing the by-line and playing a pass into Garrity who managed to bundle the ball over the line on 31 minutes to give us the lead.
Just six minutes later Worrall had a chance to double our lead from inside the area but his effort was straight at Ben Killip in goal.
A really quiet second-half, the Valiants came out much sharper than in the first but struggled to get shots off. The first came on 68 minutes from captain Pett. A great ball from Devante Rodney to Amoo started the move. He found James Gibbons who played a lofted ball to Garrity who flicked it on to Pett inside the area but his volley went over the bar.
A great chance for Amoo to seal the win on 81 minutes. He beat the offside trap and ran towards goal but his shot from inside the area went wide. A minute later Gibbons also had an opportunity to score but this time the shot was saved by Killip.
Again, the Valiants came close to making it 2-0. Some great work in the final third. The ball dropped at Garrity’s feet in the area but his shot was saved well by Killip.
We finally got our deserved second goal in the final minute. Pett skipped past three Hartlepool defenders before hitting a left-footed strike into the Monkey Hangers’ net from 20-yards out to make sure of the victory.
Port Vale: Covolan, Gibbons, Walker, Worrall (74’ Jones), Garrity, Johnson, Martin, Amoo, Rodney, Pett, Cass
Subs not used: Stone, Legge, Benning, Politic, Burgess
Hartlepool United: Killip, Ferguson (75’ Goodwin), Liddle, Featherstone, Cullen, Molyneux (46’ Grey), Jones, Byrne, Crawford (64’ Hoolahan), Hendrie, Daly
Subs not used: Mitchell, Shelton, Ogle, Francis-Angol