Pool need favour from bitter rivals

Saturday's stroll at The Shay brought Pool a 2-0 win over Halifax and leaves Pool three points off a top-seven spot with six points to play for.

Pool have their sights set on Scunthorpe's place in the play-off zone - they could also catch Rushden and Rochdale yet - and where does Brian Laws take his side to this weekend?

That's right, Darlington. And it's not very often Pool fans want anything other than defeat for their fiercest rivals.

Quakers couldn't do Pool a favour on Saturday when they lost 3-1 at Rochdale, but the memory of a 7-1 thumping at Glanford Park last November might prove an incentive for Quakers to put one over The Iron.

The favour might not go as far as backing Quakers on Saturday, but there will be one or two eyes and ears on Feethams when Pool entertain Swansea looking to make it four wins in a row.

Pool defender Graeme Lee, who clinched victory with a second-half header, is already turning his thoughts to Feethams and looking for a hand from a former teammate.

Lee was best man when former Pool compatriot Ian Clark was married last summer; as a reward Lee wants Clark to be on top form come Saturday.

"I'm going to have a word with Clarky,'' admitted Lee. "I could do with him doing us a favour - he's done brilliant since he went to Darlington, he seems happy there and has scored a few goals for them as well.

"Hopefully he can get a few more next week as well.

"We are only three points behind Scunthorpe and we just need them to slip up once and hopefully we can beat Swansea at home and then go to Exeter on the last day with something to aim for and get in the play-offs.

"We've worked hard to get where we are now, we had a bad start to the season but now we've gone on a run and still have a chance. We could still squeeze in there on the last day of the season.

"If we do make it we have to look at what Blackpool have done, scrape in there and then go up to the Second Division.''

Lee added: "We had to go to Halifax and do a job, we knew it was going to be different to last week at Oxford. We had to do everything the gaffer told us to do - our game plan was keep pushing up, get behind them and put pressure on them and we did it well I thought.

"We got the goal which we deserved and then didn't do anything silly, just kept the lead and controlled the game.

"The key was the first goal, we knew after that if we kept focused and kept doing our job we could win it.''

Once Pool had gone in front there was never any danger that the points wouldn't follow. Halifax were hammered 5-0 at Darlington last week, a result which sent the Shaymen down to the Conference. And Halifax weren't in any mood to try and go out with a bang; it was easy to see why they are the worst team in English football.

They offered nothing by way of a threat and the game was played out, for the majority at least, amid a testimonial feel.

A year ago, Craig Midgley was on top of the world, playing for Pool in a successful team and playing the best football of his career.

Now it's a different story and Midgley cut a forlorn figure against his old teammates.

His one scoring chance ended with the ball being bent into the crowd behind the goal and minutes later he was replaced.

They say agents are ruining the game. Maybe if Midgley hadn't listened to his agent and signed the contract on offer at Pool 14 months ago, he would still be playing good football and wouldn't be heading for the Conference.

Gordon Watson has been brought in since Midgley's departure and his 16th goal of the season was as good as any other he's scored.

Spectacular goals have been his forte since moving to Pool; Saturday's added to the collection and brought a round of applause from the Halifax faithful, or at least the 1,000 faithful who bothered to turn up in a crowd of 1,800.

Paul Smith picked out Watson, who had peeled away from the Halifax defence and with spectacular ease fired the ball first-time into the top corner from 25-yards. If Watson has the ability to score the spectacular, how many Pool goals has Smith set up this season?

Robert Pires has a record number of 18 Premiership assists this season; Smith can surely better that and from his corner Lee thumped home a header to make it two. The same pair also combined almost identically at Carlisle last month to secure victory.

Pool have now won three in a row and the play-offs, that looked so distant a fortnight ago after losing to Macclesfield are now back in sight.

The last two games, Swansea and Exeter, aren't daunting affairs and with confidence high, there's no real pressure on Pool to make their goal. After all, this team was bottom of the League just 28 games back.

But for Halifax, there appears no way back. They've already bounced back once from the Conference, but it's hard to see them doing it again.

The Shay reeks of the past; even the 'new' stand - or at least the shell of it - has stood untouched for well over a year and after Doncaster, Scarborough and Chester dropped out of League football, it's another relatively short trip Pool are to lose from their fixture list.

Pool may yet, however, be looking at a division above for next season's games - if Darlington keep their side of the bargain that is.

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