Ben Killip admits 'best performance of my career' as Hartlepool United see off Solihull Moors in FA Cup

Killip was left red-faced at the Lamex Stadium when his gaffe allowed Danny Rose to seal all three points for Stevenage and condemn Hartlepool to a defeat their performance, perhaps, did not merit.

Despite the immediate backing from manager Keith Curle, it was a mistake which left Killip with some soul searching to do ahead of Hartlepool’s replay with Solihull.

And when the National League side took the lead inside 10 minutes, Killip’s hopes of a comfortable night were thrown out of the window. But rather than let things manifest, he went on to produce a remarkable performance where he made a series of incredible saves before also denying Josh Kelly in the shootout as Pools progressed into the next round of the competition.

Killip received the praise of both Curle and Moors boss Neal Ardley after the game and it was a performance which the 26-year-old has described as the best in his career.

“It's a roller coaster of feelings, football. On Saturday I thought I was ready to retire,” joked Killip.

“Saturday night wasn’t much fun. There’s plenty of ups and downs but when you have days like today, I think it was probably the best game I've had in my career. It just fills you with loads of confidence.

“They scored with their first shot and after Saturday I thought ‘I’m in trouble’ but sometimes you just have those days.

“We’ve done loads of work on one-on-one stuff between me, Kyle and Pat and a lot of the stuff we’ve been working on managed to come to fruition.”

And Killip did not hide away from addressing the elephant in the room of his mistake at Stevenage, where he has credited his team-mates for their support in the days since.

“It was a freak goal. I thought the lads were superb and we deserved to get something from the game and they worked their absolute socks off, so then to let the team down like that through a freak incident in not checking my shoulder, which we’ve all seen happen on the tele or twitter, it really cut me up.

“It was really gut-wrenching to let the team down. I apologised to the lads in the dressing room afterwards and they all got round me. To be fair to the lads, they were all really good to me. Nobody said anything negative.”

And while some will often share their disgruntlement in the wake of a defeat, Killip has also thanked Hartlepool fans for their messages of support before he was serenaded with chants of ‘There’s only one Ben Killip’ at the Suit Direct Stadium following his titanic display against Solihull.

Killip told The Mail: “I got a few messages from the fans on Saturday being really supportive which was nice and that helped me get on with it.

“I’ve been here for four years and I think tonight is the first time they’ve sung my name which is nice. That meant a lot to me.

“It’s the first time my name has been sung to me in my career. I’m 26-years-old, so it’s about time.”