Hartlepool United's Crystal Palace goal ace Jake Gray as sick as a parrot

Sick as a parrot. That was Hartlepool United in more ways than one.

Poor Adam Jackson climbed off his sickbed and almost helped Pools to what would have been a priceless away victory at Cambridge United.

And the colleague he woke up on Friday night with his vomiting, room-mate Jake Gray, should have been the man to have provided the three points.

Gray had put Pools in front in the 71st-minute but the spoils were shared when Ben Williamson scored from close-range in the last minute, despite a despairing slide by Jackson.

The on-loan Middlesbrough defender volunteered to play after fellow central defender Scott Harrison was ruled out with a knee problem.

“Adam was throwing up everywhere, so I had to move out of the room,” he recalled.

“He was feeling ill [on Friday] and apart from training and getting back on the bus, he slept the rest of time.

“During the night he started throwing up in the bin! Disgusting!

“I went to get our physio after he started being sick and when I got back I think he’d filled the bin.

“I thought at that point ‘I’m out of there’.

“I got a new room, so I was all right! I got a nice double bed and I did get a good sleep!”

Such is the spirit in the camp, Gray poked fun at his room-mate (though may be not in the future) but marvelled at the way he played.

“He’s always got something wrong with him, he’s the oldest 21-year-old you will ever meet!” laughed the midfielder.

“But then he goes and plays like that, he was different class.”

Gray and Jackson – and their 12 colleagues – deserved to end as winners at the Abbey Stadium.

They would have done but for the brilliance of keeper Will Norris and that late, late composed finish by Williamson.

“We’d have taken the point beforehand,” explained Gray. “But the way the game panned out, we were very disappointed not to get all three.

“The lads are gutted to be honest.

“But we have to lift ourselves and go again.

“Our performance was a massive improvement from Accrington Stanley, so that was a real positive.”

Gray scored his fourth goal of the season, but could easily have been celebrating his fifth and sixth too, Norris denying him on three occasions but

“I put one away but we could have been out of sight,” said the 21-year-old who sneaked in to score from Michael Woods through ball.

“A couple of times they did not really pick up my runs in the second half, the second time, fortunately, I managed to put it away.

“They threw a lot at us in the last 20 minutes but our lads at the back did brilliantly.

“So it was very disappointing we could not hold out for the three points.”

It was Gray’s fourth goal in total for Pools and his second in four games, following on from his spectacular FA Cup volley in the third-round defeat to Derby.

After being left out of the starting XI at Accrington, the Crystal Palace midfielder looks a certainty to start this Saturday’s vital home match with Exeter City.

Gray was just happy Pools had bounced back from the display at the Crown Ground.

“We wanted to put Tuesday right,” he said “We were very disappointed by Accrington.”