Hartlepool 1 - 1 Rovers

[Rob]

Just got back from a long trip up to Hartlepool, one of the most depressing places ive ever been to.

Not a particularly exciting game but one that could have gone either way.

WE should have opened very early on but Akins (surprise surprise) kicked the ball as hard as a 5 year old could blow at it through a straw and it didnt manage to roll over the line.

Poor defense led to their goal however we equalised with a nice finish from Jennings.

Close to the end Kay made a ridiculous passback to Warner which he picked up leading to a free kick about 5 yards from the goal which miraculously they missed allowing us to scrape a 1-1 draw.

Usual reviews of players i.e Taylor/Akins being incapable of making a pass etc etc

TRFC Motm, Warner by a mile, if we didnt have such a good keeper we would be getting trounced most games

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I thought it was a very poor performance today, particularly the second half, although a draw was a reasonable result given that Hartlepool were only marginally better.

In the first half we had a lot of good possession, particuarly in wide areas, with Bakayogo and Cresswell putting some great deliveries into the box but due to Enoch's isolation, nobody was in a position to take advantage of them. As has been mentioned Akins missed a sitter from ten yards, failing to make proper contact wiht the ball which was then cleared off the line (how long can you persisit with a striker who never looks like scoring ?).

Hartlepool's goal came against the run of play, but at least they had some decent passing and movement to create chances throughout the game, which we did not.

In the second half we laboured badly and hoofball reigned, with the result that Jennings, McGurk and Robinson were brought on. As the game came to a close we still did not look like scoring, and it was Pools who were the more dangerous of the sides, hitting the crossbar from distance and having a penalty claim turned down.

Fortunately a bit of brilliance from Enoch (who looked jaded today) and Jennings saved us. Showunmi beat two defenders with pace and strength and got a good shot away which the keeper palmed into Jennings' path and he finished coolly.

As I say, although the performance was generally poor I think the point was deserved on the balance of play, and almost certainly keeps us in League One next season.

On the negative side, I don't think I can take another nine months of watching the kind of stuff I saw today.

 

[Ian]

Ohh dear. Same old XI trotting out, same old tactics and same old poor quality of football. Let's just say it was all about the result and we picked up a point which should be enough to see us safe now.

On the negative side, I don't think I can take another nine months of watching the kind of stuff I saw today.

Long term, it doesn't look good. Something has to change next season otherwise it's going to be torture watching this lot again.

 

[Boz]

I didn't think Hartlepool the place was that bad (try Middlesborough), it's a bit similar to Birkenhead actually. Their ground is a "real" stadium with some character rather than the modern variety that look like self-assembly kits from BnQ. There wasn't much atmosphere from the home support, though the 233 visitors made a fair bit of noise.

My feeling is that Rovers were lucky to get a point and given Pools were giving debuts to three youngsters including the goalie, whereas Rovers were probably fielding 10 of the 11 Les regards as his strongest, that is not good.

We started brightly and Akins, who was one of our better players in the first half (which will give you a clue about the standard) had an effort cleared off the line and didn't convert the rebound. Rovers went behind from the first home attack of any note, space opened up from a throw-in and their man side-footed past Warner, who perhaps could have done better? This seemed to knock the stuffing out of Rovers and the remainder of the half involved lots of long ball and none of the midfielders putting their foot on the ball and changing the pattern of play.

Second-half, no changes, more of the same. Eventually Robinson brought on for Weir, which improved things a bit as Robbo did carry the ball forward a bit. However, we were still second best, so Dale and Adam brought on with ~25 minutes to go. It didn't immediately pay off, indeed the home side hit the bar, but with about 10 minutes to go, their rookie keeper couldn't hold an effort from Enoch and the Boy Wonder was there to tap in the rebound. The remainder of the match was end-to-end. Totally disagree with Rob about the Kay back-pass, no way was that deliberate, a poor decision from the referee. We clung on for a point, still need a couple more for safety.

A lot of the side were below par today. Of the starters, Warner, Welsh, Enoch and (by his own standards) Akins were up to scratch, along with the subs and my MoM Goodison.

We need something from the Exeter game. What hope of starting with the side who finished here??

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I didn't think Hartlepool the place was that bad (try Middlesborough), it's a bit similar to Birkenhead actually. Their ground is a "real" stadium with some character rather than the modern variety that look like self-assembly kits from BnQ. There wasn't much atmosphere from the home support, though the 233 visitors made a fair bit of noise.

I warm to Hartlepool as a club. They epitomise what lower division footy is all about. Imagine how easy it would be to support Middleborough or Newcastle rather than such a small, unfashionable team. That said, the freezing weather and mist swirling round the pitch when the rest of Britain is having a heatwave was a bit surreal.

I also agree that the indirect freekick given for Kay's backpass was ridiculous and nearly cost us the point. The ball basically deflected off Kay back to Warner and if anything his intention was to put it behind for a corner.

 

[DIW]

I didn't think Hartlepool the place was that bad (try Middlesborough), it's a bit similar to Birkenhead actually.

So it is pretty bad then. :-D

I played footie in Hartlepool once in a national cup competition. It was freezing.

A points a point though and it moves us onto the 50 point mark. Can't see us going down now as I don't think the teams below will score enough points. I know what you mean about watching another nine months of this. I'll more than likely renew my season ticket next week, but we really need a change in the summer. A manager who has some tactical acumen would be good for a start.

 

[SonkORLY?]

Thanks for the reports!

 

[Rob]

The best bit of the day was having a pint of their local ale and a pukka pie.

Thats how dismal the match was

 

[amplesou]

I didn't think Hartlepool the place was that bad (try Middlesborough), it's a bit similar to Birkenhead actually.

than its really bad then!!!!!

 

[Boz]

I warm to Hartlepool as a club. They epitomise what lower division footy is all about. Imagine how easy it would be to support Middleborough or Newcastle rather than such a small, unfashionable team. That said, the freezing weather and mist swirling round the pitch when the rest of Britain is having a heatwave was a bit surreal.

Agree with this. My first visit was for the league game, in the season they beat us in the play-offs and wandering around the town before the game, was pleasantly surprised to see the majority of replica shirts worn by people of all ages were Pools shirts. They seem to have a lot of pride in what the side symbolises, perhaps something we Wirral natives could learn from.

Also with you and DIW regarding the climate. I didn't heed the advice in the football fans guide to take a sweater; mistake!