Pools stun O's with late win
Last Updated: February 16, 2013 6:28pm
Peter Hartley: Netted the equaliser
Hartlepool's dramatic late turnaround saw them see off Leyton Orient 2-1 and climb off the foot of the League One table.
Peter Hartley, after 88 minutes, and Luke James, deep into stoppage time, gave Pools the most unlikely of victories to keep their hopes of survival intact.
A seventh-minute penalty from Martin Rowlands, awarded for a handball in the area by Neil Austin, appeared to separate the sides and the O's looked good for the win.
Rowlands' spot-kick was the sixth penalty Pools have conceded at home in eight games.
The O's kept Pools at a distance for most of the game, with central defender Scott Cuthbert producing a number of blocks when the home side were able to shoot.
The visitors were denied a second after 29 minutes when goalkeeper Scott Flinders backpedalled to push out a goalbound Shaun Batt header from a lovely Gary Sawyer cross.
As half-time approached, Cuthbert excelled to stop goalbound shots from James Poole and twice from Jon Franks.
Second-half openings were scarce for both sides.
But Evan Horwood swung over a corner for Hartley to power in with just two minutes remaining and then James, with 30 seconds of five minutes of added time to go, won it with a snap-shot from the edge of the area after the O's failed to clear.
Matches
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npower League 1
Table
npower League 1
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 84 |
| 2 | Bournemouth | 46 | 83 |
| 3 | Brentford | 46 | 79 |
| 4 | Yeovil Town | 46 | 77 |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 46 | 75 |
| 6 | Swindon Town | 46 | 74 |
| 7 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 71 |
| 8 | Milton Keynes Dons | 46 | 70 |
| 9 | Walsall | 46 | 68 |
| 10 | Crawley Town | 46 | 68 |
| 11 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 67 |
| 12 | Notts County | 46 | 65 |
| 13 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 64 |
| 14 | Preston North End | 46 | 59 |
| 15 | Coventry City | 46 | 55 |
| 16 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 55 |
| 17 | Carlisle United | 46 | 55 |
| 18 | Stevenage | 46 | 54 |
| 19 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 51 |
| 20 | Colchester United | 46 | 51 |
| 21 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 48 |
| 22 | Bury | 46 | 41 |
| 23 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 41 |
| 24 | Portsmouth | 46 | 32 |
