Human error proves very costly for Pools

Colchester United 2 Hartlepool United 0

WHATEVER the rights or wrongs of putting extra officials to oversee events inside the penalty area, or the introduction of goal-line technology, there’s one thing that cannot be accounted for – human error.

It has long affected and changed the face of football.

On Saturday, it was Hartlepool United’s turn to feel a sense of injustice at the hands, or rather whistle, of a referee.

Northampton official Kevin Woolmer was the subject of Pools’ ire after awarding Colchester three penalties in the space of six minutes either side of half-time.

The first one was missed, the next two converted. Game over.

And Pools headed back up the A1 on Saturday night with their first away loss of the season to stew over.

First up and Sam Collins jumped with Clive Platt for one of the endless balls put into the penalty area. Penalty said Woolmer and Kevin Lisbie missed.

Five minutes later Gary Liddle wrestled Odejayi to the ground. Penalty said Woolmer and Pools couldn’t argue. Lisbie scored.

Just 30 seconds into the second- half and a cross, that should have been stopped, bounced up onto Liddle’s hand. Penalty said Woolmer and Lisbie scored.

“To be fair the best way to sum it up is that both their centre forwards came up to me and apologised and said two out of three penalties weren’t penalties,’’ reflected Collins.

“The second yes, it was, but the first and third, definitely not.

“The first we jumped for the header, he’s gone down, and it’s given as a penalty – he apologised to me when he got up.

“The third just bounced up off the floor. Lids never moved and it hit his arm – it’s so disappointing.

“We knew what we were going to be up against all day with the two big men up front, but the penalties? You would have to ask the referee about it. I tried to ask and say something to him but you cannot because you get booked “You get told you can speak to them in the dressing room afterwards, but that’s 25 minutes later and he’s already made his decisions on the pitch.’’ All the more annoying for the captain is that he is told before the game by the referee that he will be, as per the Respect campaign, the Pools player who he will communicate to over contentious decisions on the pitch.

Instead, he got the brush off.

“I just hope the referee looks at his decisions and doesn’t make the same mistakes again,’’ added Collins.

“People will look at it on TV and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work it out.

“The first penalty was a genuine challenge for the ball and I tried to tell the referee that. It was a strong, fair challenge.

We had had a good, fair, clean 40 minutes and the referee was telling us that much.

“There was no intent at all for the third penalty, his arm was by his side.’’ It’s not the first time Pools have felt wronged by Woolmer. He was the official who sent off Jon Daly at Chester in 2006, a red card instantly overturned on appeal.

Appeals on Saturday, however, counted for nothing.

And for the first time this season, Pools took nothing from an away game. They conceded – Lisbie’s second spot kick – their first goal in 435 minutes.

A second followed a minute later, but some comfort for Pools is that they’ve yet to be breached from open play.

At the other end, they didn’t create a great deal. Peter Hartley’s header was well clawed out by Ben Williams, while James Brown’s low shot was kept out by Williams’ legs.

Denis Behan and Brown didn’t get a lot of joy up front against the giant Magnus Okuonghae, while Armann Bjornsson again impressed on his introduction.

At the other end, Liddle and Collins were up against a constant barrage of balls drilled forward at the earliest opportunity towards Platt and Odejayi.

Boothroyd’s instructions from the touchline towards his keeper were simple: bang it quickly, bang it long and Pools dealt relatively comfortably with them.

Turner’s side didn’t play as well as they have done this season on the road, but they have certainly lost that soft underbelly which proved their downfall on too many occasions last campaign.

They must just hope they don’t see Kevin Woolmer too soon.

Match facts

Goals: 1-0: Lisbie pen (45, struck to Flinders’ left with pace) 2-0: Lisbie pen (46, low shot rolled into the bottom left corner)

Bookings: Monkhouse (68, unsporting behaviour), Tierney (68, unsporting behaviour)

Referee: Kevin Woolmer (Northampton): Inconsistency and two penalty decisions infuriated and flattened Pools 3

Attendance: 4,259

Entertainment: ✰✰✰

COLCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2):

Williams 7; White 5, Okuonghae 7, Batth 6, Tierney 7; Wordsworth 6 (Bender 88), Fox 5, O’Toole 6, Lisbie 7 (Ifil 90); PLATT 8, Odejayi 7. Subs (not used): Cousins (gk), Heath, Vernon, Gillespie, Hackney, Bender.

HARTLEPOOL UNITED (4-4-2): 7 FLINDERS: Still to be beaten from open play away from home this season 5Haslam: Didn’t get forward to help out, but helped keep the defensive shape 7Collins: Tough afternoon, but came through the battle relatively unscathed

7 Liddle: Deflated by the third penalty award, but gave a strong display

5 Hartley: Went close to scoring in the first half, but quiet in the second period

5 McSweeney: Took his share of dead balls, but replaced on the hour

5 Jones: Never made the telling impact needed of him in the middle

6 Sweeney: Never stopped running, chasing and closing down all afternoon

5 Monkhouse: Replaced before he got sent-off after losing his discipline;

5 Behan: Quiet day with little change from the home defence

6 Brown: Chance to score when it was 0-0, but laboured at times

Subs:

Bjornsson (for McSweeney 59: plenty of effort but couldn’t change the game 6

Humphreys (for Monkhouse 71); Boyd (for Behan 71) (not used) Cook (gk), Austin, Fredriksen, Larkin.

MAN OF THE MATCH

CLIVE Platt - proved the handful expected of him