There was late drama at Walton & Hersham on Saturday as goalkeeper, Jos Barker, came up to make his presence felt at a 93rd minute corner with his side trailing 2-1 and ended up grabbing an equaliser with a diving header in their Pitching In Southern League Premier South clash with Dorchester Town, a team that sit just one place above them in the table.
It was the stuff of dreams for the young custodian who is enjoying his first taste of Step 3 this season having jumped up two levels over the summer.
“I am the type of ‘keeper who likes to put myself in the mix if my team needs it late on,” Barker told us. “I have done it a few times at my previous club and have hit the woodwork on a couple of occasions and had one cleared off the line, but never scored.
“On Saturday we won a free-kick deep into stoppage time and I looked across at the Gaffer, he shouted for me to go up and just make a nuisance of myself in the box.
“The ball pinged around a bit and then in the second phase, I was lucky to be there to get my head on the ball and put it in the back of the net.
“It was a game of two halves on Saturday, so to get a goal so late on to salvage a point for us is something that I’ll always remember! It’s definitely one of the highlights of my career so far; I’ve never had a feeling like that before. Saving a penalty doesn’t even come close unfortunately!
“I am really enjoying my football right now. I made the step up from Step 5 in the summer and I am pleased with how I have adapted to the extra demands that this level brings.
“As a team, we’re a largely new group so we’re still getting to know each other and gelling together, but everyone is class and we’ve created a great team environment here.
“We’re just outside the top five at the moment but everything can change very quickly with the amount of games that are coming up over the festive period. I’m really looking forward to it, especially the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day games as they always bring big crowds and special atmospheres.
“It’ll be a new experience for me this year, but it can’t come soon enough. This is what you play football for.
“This League is such an excellent standard with some extremely talented players involved and I am delighted to be part of it and I feel that I am developing and growing all of the time.
“For me it’s about learning and just enjoying it. Like all goalkeepers, I aim to keep as many clean sheets as I can and basically just help the team in whatever way I can, even if that means going up and scoring a goal or two!
“I’m not looking too far ahead, just taking a game-by-game approach and trying to stay in the moment as much as I can.”
The Swans head to Marlow on Saturday before hosting Bracknell Town on Boxing Day.
IMAGE: Walton & Hersham FC
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