Liddle joy as goal drought ends

Liddle rose through the academy ranks at Victoria Park

Hartlepool United midfielder Gary Liddle has expressed his joy at scoring the winner in Tuesday's 2-1 FA Cup first round replay defeat of Brighton.

Liddle, 22, opened his account for the season with his second-half strike and admitted his surprise at getting his name on the scoresheet.

"I'm not renowned for my goalscoring attributes but if one comes along I'll take it," he told BBC Tees.

"Any goal that comes for me is a bonus but the result is more important."

The home-grown midfielder was also full of praise for striker Joel Porter, after the forward's coolly-taken penalty kick-started Pools second-half revival.

Porter was in and out of the team last season with injuries and loss of form, but Liddle believes the Australian is back to his best in Pools shirt this season.

"As soon as he got an extended run in the team he was always going to be the good goalscorer that he is," he said.

"We see it every day in training, whether it's penalties or in and around the box, he's a clinical finisher.

"We're just starting to see the benefits of that."