Gareth Horwood declared himself “over the moon” after Hartlepool United Women climbed out of the NERWFL Northern bottom three following a 3-1 win at Consett Ladies.
Second-half-goals from Zara Johnson, Maddy Gray and Linsey Mochan took Pools to victory at Belle View and up to eighth in the table on 21 points.
The race for safety looks like going down to the wire with six points covering the entire bottom six, from Redcar Town in seventh to the three clubs in the relegation zone all on 18 points.
Horwood’s side have four matches remaining, three at Metcalfe Park, starting with the visit of high-flying Chester-le-Street United this Sunday (kick-off 2pm).
Pools have given themselves every chance of playing their way to safety after their excellent win at Consett.
“I’m over the moon with the performance,” said the head coach.
“The women played some great football throughout, putting in a solid shift right across the team.
“We stamped our authority early, winning individual duels in the middle of the park and setting the tone.
“Most of our attacking success came from the wide areas, playing on the front foot with quick passing movements.”
Yet, despite dominating the first half, Pools lacked a killer instinct in front of goal and missed some great chances which meant the scoreline was 0-0 at the break.
But the breakthrough came after the interval when Gray threaded a beautifully-weighted ball through for Johnson, who rounded the keeper and slotted home into an empty net.
Soon after, Gray found herself just outside the box, drove at the defence, and made her way into the area. While her first shot was saved, she followed up to bury the rebound, a reward for her relentless effort.
Consett switched to a more direct approach and began causing Pools a few problems.
They pulled a goal back through Kate Holden to make the closing stages a bit nervy.
As the hosts pressed for an equaliser, Pools hit them on the counter-attack. Abi Cope was brought down right on the edge of the box, and up stepped Mochan to curl a fantastic free-kick into the top corner to put the game to bed.
The referee blew shortly after the restart, confirming a well-deserved 3–1 victory.
Horwood added: “The message at half-time was simple – keep playing the way we were, but stay calm and composed in the final third.
“It was a brilliant team performance and a crucial three points that lifts us out of the drop zone.
“From my point of view we played extremely well in parts.
“But there are still areas which need improving in order to see games out quicker, particularly our individual decisions when in possession, along with being more precise when in front of goal.”
Image: Mark Bird
