Flower's Woking Adventure Ends After Four Games and One Moment of Magic
Louis Flower's loan spell at Woking has come to an abrupt end, though the striker did manage to produce one spectacular moment before heading back to Crawley Town.
In the grand theatre of football loans, some players get a full season to make their mark, others get a few months, and then there's Louis Flower, who managed to squeeze his Woking career into just four appearances before being recalled by parent club Crawley Town.
The striker's brief sojourn in Surrey has come to an end, leaving behind what can only be described as a highlights reel that's mercifully short but undeniably sweet. Four games isn't exactly enough time to unpack your boots properly, let alone establish yourself as a fan favourite, but Flower did manage to provide one moment that Woking supporters won't forget in a hurry.
That moment came on his debut against Truro City down in Cornwall, where the on-loan forward announced his arrival with the sort of overhead kick that would make Zlatan nod approvingly. The acrobatic effort helped secure a 2-0 victory for the Cards, giving Flower the perfect start to what would prove to be a remarkably condensed chapter in his footballing story.
It's the kind of goal that typically buys you a few more weeks of goodwill, regardless of what follows. Unfortunately for Flower, those weeks have been cut short by his recall to Sky Bet League Two side Crawley Town, where presumably they've decided they need his services more than their National League South neighbours do.
For Woking, it's another reminder of the precarious nature of the loan system. Just as you start to appreciate what a player might bring to your team, their parent club can pull the rug from under you faster than you can say 'recall clause'. The Cards will now have to adjust their forward planning without the striker who promised much in his fleeting appearance.
The timing suggests Crawley have either suffered an injury crisis up front or have simply decided that Flower's talents are better utilised back at the Broadfield Stadium. Either way, it's a swift end to what began with such promise in that victory over Truro City.
While four appearances might not seem like much of a loan spell, at least Flower can return to his parent club knowing he made an immediate impact. That overhead kick goal will live longer in the memory than many players' entire loan spells, proving that sometimes quality trumps quantity.
For Woking, the search for attacking reinforcement continues, though they'll struggle to find a replacement who can match Flower's debut dramatics quite so spectacularly.