A week ago, according to many, we were scintillating and about to run away with second place, but after a couple of average displays away from home the season is 'falling apart'.... Neither is true in reality, and there is still everything to play for.
I thought we should have got a point after an improved second half display. Hartlepool were the better side in the first period, but the back four had coped well with their pressure and they only had one genuine chance in open play, for Molyneux. We were not great by any means, bypassing the midfield too often, but we grew into the game midway through the half and looked like we were going to get to half time on level terms. However, a contentious free kick and an unfortunate (slight) error result in an own goal.
You have got to give credit to the players for the second half reaction, as we were completely dominant territorially and Hartlepool could not get out of their half, other than on sporadic counter attacks. However, a bit of anxiety set in and the final bit of quality was lacking, while there were some heroic blocks from the hosts. All of that said, Hemmings should have equalised with one of his two opportunities.
We have clearly been disrupted by injuries, and the absence of O'Connor and Nevitt must have screwed up our preparation for this game. There is also clearly a loss of confidence and a bit of anxiety in the squad. However, fundamentally nothing has changed. We are not being outplayed and teams are not scoring goals against us in open play, and the form will turn around again. It was completely unrealistic to believe we would not have a bad patch in the second half of the season; a number of our rivals (Exeter, Vale, Swindon) already have.