Hartlepool United head coach Anthony Limbrick was full of praise for Sam Folarin's "great attitude" after the attacker scored his first Pools goal in the 94th minute of Saturday's dramatic win over relegated Ebbsfleet.

It's been a frustrating start to life at the Prestige Group Stadium for the frontman since signing from League Two Harrogate in January. The versatile forward, who scored a superb individual goal against Pools on New Year's Day 2023, has found himself on the fringes of his new side, starting just two games and making a total of 12 appearances.

It's taken the fleet-footed Folarin some time to get up to speed having lost his place in the Harrogate team at the beginning of the campaign despite a strong start to the season, scoring three goals in his first four appearances. When he first arrived in the North East, Folarin was lacking both match sharpness and fitness but has been working hard in training over the last few weeks, with first team coach Gavin Skelton putting him through his paces. That hard work now looks to be coming to fruition after Folarin opened his Pools account at the weekend following an energetic cameo as Limbrick's side recorded a third successive win for the first time since the beginning of last season.

At 24, Pools are hoping Folarin will continue to improve ahead of next term, when he's expected to play an integral role. The former Middlesbrough and Queen of the South man is one of just a handful of players known to have committed their futures to the club beyond this season, with Folarin, Jamie Miley, Tom Parkes and Adam Smith all penning deals to keep them at the Prestige Group Stadium until the end of the 2025/26 campaign. Pools are likely to lose influential Reyes Cleary when his loan expires this summer, while the likes of Mani Dieseruvwe, Joe Grey and Gary Madine are all out of contract at the end of the season, meaning Folarin could well have to shoulder considerably more responsibility next term. It feels important, then, that the forward can finish the campaign on a high note as he looks to take some momentum into his first full season as a Pools player.

Limbrick is hoping the attacker's first Pools goal will help him finish the season strongly following a slow start to life at the Prestige Group Stadium. Picture by Frank Reid.

placeholder image — Limbrick is hoping the attacker's first Pools goal will help him finish the season strongly following a slow start to life at the Prestige Group Stadium. Picture by Frank Reid.

Following his maiden Pools goal, head coach Anthony Limbrick hailed the attacker's recent hard work as he looks to establish himself at the Prestige Group Stadium.

"He came into us very deconditioned," he told BBC Radio Tees Sport.

"It wasn't really his fault, he hadn't played a lot of football. It was hard for him to get up to speed, we've been throwing him on in a lot of games when teams were dropping off. He's got great pace.

"In the last two or three weeks in particular I've been really pleased with him, he's been working hard in training, doing his extras, doing physically more. He's got a great attitude and he didn't want to just see the season out, he wanted to make sure he was on the front foot and pushing to get back into the team.

"I thought he came on last week and was excellent, he put himself about physically up front in a two.

"For him to score today (Saturday), I'm very, very happy for him. He really deserves that and hopefully that kicks him on now."

Your next Hartlepool United read: Can Pools gatecrash the play-offs?