Keane ambushes Pools move for Healy

ROY KEANE has stepped in to stop Hartlepool United pulling off an Irish double.

Chris Turner, Hartlepool’s director of sport, had been confident of announcing two signings from Cork City in the last 48 hours after agreeing a fee of around £80,000 for Colin Healy and striker Denis Behan.

But Behan, who made his first appearance for his new club in the 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday last night, is unlikely to be followed to Victoria Park by Healy.

Healy, 29, was at Victoria Park on Monday when he was contacted by Ipswich Town.

He is thought to have been in Suffolk yesterday and is expected to complete the move to Portman Road this week.

Cork, who played Ipswich in a friendly on Sunday, have confirmed another club have emerged for his signature and now Turner is resigned to losing out on a player who signed for Sunderland in 2003.

Turner said: “We came very close to signing Colin Healy.

But we have come up short. It is annoying because we have worked hard for two months on Colin Healy, only for Ipswich to play Cork on Sunday and decide they want him.”

Behan came on as a second half substitute for the ineffective Michael Mackay. And the 25-year-old provided a presence up front that had been lacking. His introduction, along with Norwegian Jon-Andre Fredriksen, saw Pools field seven summer signings against the Owls and one trialist, Dan Smith.

Smith played for Gateshead last season after his release from Aberdeen, but the former Sunderland defender now has a chance to impress at Football League level again.

He will, however, have to improve on this showing and was part of a defence that leaked an early goal last night.

After Marcus Tudgay and Francis Jeffers had gone close for the visitors, the two combined in the 13th minute to put the owls in front.

Jeffers’ clever through pass to Tudgay allowed the former Derby man to strike low into goalkeeper Scott Flinders’ bottom right corner.

And Hartlepool found themselves two behind – Ryan France getting the second.

Pools never got a foothold in the game and Wednesday keeper Lee Grant was only forced into one testing save in the last five minutes when he denied an unmarked Andy Monkhouse.

Teams

HARTLEPOOL (4-4-2): Flinders; Austin, Collins, Hartley (Fredriksen 46), Smith; McSweeney, Sweeney (Rowell 73), Liddle, Monkhouse (Jones 85); Boyd (Foley 70), Mackay (Behan 46). Subs (not used): Tymon, Power, Cook.

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY (4-4-2): Grant; Simek, Hinds, Wood, Spurr; France (Esajas 72), Potter, O’Connor (McAllister 72), Gray; Jeffers (Clarke 60), Tudgay (Sodje 77). Subs (not used): Buxton, O’Donnell, Beevers, Boden.