Hartlepool United 0 West Ham United 2

SATURDAY was a day of frustration and exasperation at Victoria Park for the Hartlepool United contingent.

As their FA Cup run was ended by West Ham United, there was no repeat of the heroics which saw off Stoke City, another Premier League team, in round three.

Referee Lee Mason was on the receiving end of most of the angst, the official wrongly handing the Hammers a killer penalty seconds after they had taken the lead.

And even Chris Turner, the most placid of managers (or even temporary managers or directors of sport) was left reeling.

His irritant wasn’t, however, Mason – “The penalty decision went against us, I won’t harp on about it. I didn’t argue about it at the time, but I now know it wasn’t in the penalty box.’’ Instead, his sense of exasperation came post-match, thanks to a television reporter after Turner had watched a cracking FA Cup tie. At least it was until Mason’s decision to award a penalty for a handball offence outside the penalty area.

An enthralling game, however, wasn’t the Setanta Sports verdict.

The new home of the FA Cup is how they tag their coverage this season. More opening gambits like the one presented to Turner on Saturday and they won’t be welcomed to any football home.

Turner was informed he must have been disappointed at the way his side failed to perform and that they were never in the game.

It was a statement which was as crass as the decision by referee Mason, and the non-decision of his assistant Mick Mc- Donough, who failed to s p o t M i c k y Nelson was positioned outside t h e p e n a l t y box when the ball hit his arm.

And, luckily for Setanta, it didn’t get the response the Sun got from Sir Alex Ferguson on Saturday, when the Manchester United manager was riled by the newspaper.

“Were you watching the same game as me?’’ retorted a stunned Turner.

Away from the TV cameras he later added: “It was a very strong West Ham side and they showed us respect.

“Because we beat Stoke and West Brom, they came to us desperate not to be the third team to go down.

“If we hadn’t beaten those two sides, they may have come up here with a different attitude, thinking ‘it’s only Hartlepool we are up against’.

“But because we had already won against Premier League opposition their outlook was different.

“It gave them a bit more of a warning, they were professional and they put in that sort of performance.’’ Turner was appointed boss for the first time in February 1999, a time when days like this seemed a million miles away.

“West Ham came here in a big game for Hartlepool United and I’ve been here ten years now,’’ he reflected.

“We have acquitted ourselves well in League One and we feel we can be higher in this division than we are, but a lot of people have been here this week who haven’t been here for a long time and they have been impressed.

“We are out on a limb a little bit up here and have three Premier League teams around us, who get all the media attention, this week has been our turn and we have enjoyed it and done ourselves justice.’’ When Turner took over a decade ago, Gianfranco Zola was lighting up English football as a Chelsea player.

“I’ve never met the fella before, I’d only seen him on TV and I know what a great player he was,’’ admitted Turner.

“Chatting to him before the game I asked him if he was enjoying it. He is now bec a u s e when he first took over he was struggling to get a win.

“You need a bit of luck in the competition and whoever gets to the final rounds will look back at something going in their favour – here something went in their favour.

“From our point of view in the final third we couldn’t get that final ball, pass or strike to test Robert Green. You need that bit more in front of goal against top-class opposition.’’ Pools started very brightly, intent on beating a third Premier League side at Victoria Park this season, before a decisive minute of madness on halftime.

Zola’s side took a lead they didn’t really merit on 44 minutes, then came the decision which deflated the game.

Micky Nelson was immense against Stoke three weeks previously, scoring the opener on the way to victory.

On this occasion his performance was in pretty much the same vein, while discovering the other side of the FA Cup coin.

Pools’ harrying and workrate meant the Hammers weren’t allowed to get their foot on the ball and dictate the pace of the game.

It was 33 minutes before they strung together a succession of passes of any note and it led to Herita Ilunga’s low cross being palmed away by Arran Lee-Barrett.

Next time, when they moved the ball across the field to the left side with purpose, they opened the scoring.

Nelson looked set to clear inside the area, but the ball flicked off his heel and into the path of Valon Behrami, who made no mistake with an angled drive.

Going in one-down at the break would have been a shock, but to fall two down was a disaster.

Four years ago, when Pools met Brentford in an FA Cup replay at Victoria Park, referee Mason stuck the boot into their hopes by sending off defender Jack Ross after eight minutes.

The decision was reversed on appeal.

This time, the Bolton blower wrongly decreed that Nelson was inside the penalty area when the ball hit an outstretched arm.

Quite what the assist a n t referee, yards from the incident and keeping up with play, was looking at we will never know.

He was positioned in a good enough spot to realise Mason’s mistake.

Mark Noble swept in from the spot.

“I thought it was a free-kick at first,’’ admitted Nelson. “I knew I had handballed it, I was stretching and it hit my arm.

“Joel (Porter) had a go at him about it being outside the area, and it’s been proved it wasn’t in the area.

“I knew I was sort of close, but once he has given it, he’s not going to change his mind – especially in front of the cameras.

“The decision was a killer for us right on half-time. I still think we should have gone in at 0-0.’’ The goals dampened the atmosphere, with the home crowd now looking on more in hope than expectation.

Matty Robson’s high cross found Gary Liddle and he connected firmly, but goalkeeper Robert Green was well positioned to push it over.

That was the closest Pools went to reducing the gap. Their other scoring chance came early on when Green was nowhere near a Robson corner and the ball bounced off Michael Mackay before Scott Parker lumped it off the goalline.

Referee Mason was also under scruitny for his handling of Carlton Cole.

West Ham’s front man was booked, but could have collected yellow cards on three occasions and was fortunate not to see red as he agitated the crowd.

He went in studs first on Lee- Barrett, which sparked a melee and a booking, when others would have shown red.

Minutes after Cole caught Lee-Barrett in the face with his studs up, he was replaced.

“Carlton Cole, I don’t understand why they were picking on him,’’ admitted Zola, showing far more class than crass. “He is very tranquil and sometimes too much.

“I wasn’t going to rest my players. For me this is a special competition and I wish my players have the possibility of the final because it is a fantastic event.

“It is a competition I love, I love coming to places like this and honouring the other team and honouring the competition by playing the best football and winning.

“Small crowds like this is the FA Cup and that’s why it is unique.

“Hartlepool were special in the first 35 minutes, they caused us lots of problems.

They were very well organised then we got a couple of solutions in midfield and our game got better and better.

“But I thought they did very well and congratulations to them.’’