Pitiful Pools prove camera shy on TV

LAST season, Hartlepool United headed for Meadow Lane in good spirits after a good run of form.

They produced a pitiful display, lost 3-0 and so started a spell of five games without a win.

Yesterday, Pools headed for Meadow Lane in good spirits after an encouraging start to the season.

They produced a pitiful display, lost 3-0 and now the task is to prove themselves and show how much they have improved on last season.

The confidence and belief engineered from their nine-game unbeaten start to the season wasn't evident yesterday, as the home side outbattled, outfought and outplayed Pools.

During his time in charge of Brentford, County boss Martin Allen had some thrilling encounters with Pools - fair to say this wasn't anything like those games.

It was one-sided, as Pools never got going, created little and conceded the sort of goals that have not been on their agenda this season.

Now, with Wycombe Wanderers to come at Victoria Park next weekend, Pools need to put this one to bed and start again.

Pools created the first opening on two minutes - little did they know it was their only chance until the last two minutes.

Nobby Solano took possession in his favoured area, right side 30 yards from goal. He curled the ball deep over towards the advancing Antony Sweeney to plant a header at goal.

He tried to get it past and through Stuart Nelson, but put the chance too close to the goalkeeper.

At the other end, Scott Flinders was to have a far harder first-half.

Notts started to press Pools back and pen them into their area with a series of long throw-ins hauled into the area by defender Mike Edwards.

Unable to clear convincingly, it gave the hosts ample chance to gain a foothold.

From the third of three successive long bombs, Karl Hawley headed on and Scott Flinders gathered under his own crossbar.

Sam Collins, instead of putting the ball upfield 60 yards, laid the ball off deftly to Ben Burgess, a striker considered by Mick Wadsworth in the summer when he was out of favour at Meadow Lane and seemingly on his way.

He blasted well over, but it wasn't long before the pressure told.

As the ball dropped at the near post, Hawley, with his back to goal, hooked low into the net, with Flinders beaten as the effort came through a ruck of legs.

The Pools goalkeeper, nominated for September's League One player of the month award, was quickly called into further action, diving to his right to get two hands on to a close-range Hawley header.

An all-too-rare Pools effort came with half-time approaching.

Solano's free-kick was headed out to Paul Murray 25 yards out and his instinct wasn't to take a touch or lob it back into the mix, but try his luck. As he ran on to it straight, his header arrowed a few yards wide of Nelson's post.

Wadsworth resisted the temptation to change things at the break, hoping his side would go out and prove their worth by showing the sort of form which lifted them into the top seven with only one defeat going into this encounter.

But instead they spent the first 120 seconds of the half defending three corners.

Pools continued to offer minimal threat at the other end.

Wadsworth took seven minutes to make changes. Off went Ritchie Humphreys and Boyd, on came Andy Monkhouse and Evan Horwood.

Monkhouse did offer some welcome drive on the flank and soon got into stride with his partner.

The winger skipped beyond Julian Kelly and fired in a low ball towards Colin Nish. The big striker was always second best all afternoon, this time was no exception and Edwards got there first.

If Pools had a chance of getting back into the game, they had to get a goal during that period.

It was a rare spell when they pushed Notts back, but it all came to nothing.

And it was 87 minutes before Nelson was called into action again.

Nish met a deep Horwood free-kick but, always stretching, lobbed his effort into the hands of the keeper.

Then Liddle, who took a boot flat in the face when Neale Bishop accidentally caught his fellow Teessider, took the ball away from Nish in the area and shot low.

Nelson, however, was quickly off his line and quickly down to smother.

Maybe, if Pools had scored, a one-goal deficit with five minutes of added time to come might have produced an interesting climax.

In keeping with the rest of the performance it wasn't to be. And, Notts went up the other end in injury time and substitute Cristian Montano drilled a low shot into the net from 25 yards.

Super Sunday on Sky? Not a bit of it for Hartlepool United.

Matchfacts

Goals: 1-0: Hawley (29, hooked in from close range with his back to goal) 2-0: Hawley (54, allowed to run through the middle unchecked to neatly clip past Flinders) 3-0: Montano (90, low drive into the corner from 25 yards)
Bookings: Solano (7, foul); Monkhouse (57, foul); Sheehan (66, deliberate handball), Horwood (75, foul)
Referee: Darren Deadman (Peterborough): Needless booking for Solano early on, but didn’t have any impact on the game 7
Attendance: 6,172
Entertainment: **

NOTTS COUNTY (4-1-3-2): Nelson 7; Kelly 8, Pearce 7 (Sodje 90), Edwards 7, Sheehan 7; Mahon 7; Judge 6 (L Hughes 66, 6), Bishop 7, J Hughes 5; Burgess 6 (Montano 82), HAWLEY 8. Subs (not used): Speiss (gk), Stirling.

HARTLEPOOL UNITED (4-4-2)

7 Flinders: Overworked, and under plenty of pressure throughout, but first-half especially
5 Austin: Not as sharp or strong as he has been this season, suffered a dip in performance
6 Collins: Up against the physical Burgess and got to grips with him at times
6 Hartley: Enjoyed the physical nature of the game, but Pools as a defensive unit weren’t the pack they have been
5 Humphreys: Couple of searching passes down the line for runners, but never got going and replaced soon after the restart
4 Solano: Created game’s first chance, but his flattest display of the season and could be out a few games with a hamstring strain
5 Murray: Overrun in an open middle of the park, worked and toiled to little or no effect
5 Liddle: Took a blow to the face late on, but will be hurting more by the performance
6 Sweeney: Showed how much he is missed in the middle when he was restored there when Pools switched to 4-5-1. Energetic throughout
4 Nish: Never made an attacking impact in the first-half as he got more and more frustrated, gradual second-half improvement
4 Boyd: Not like the player who has four goals away from home this season. Didn’t hold the ball up on the odd occasion he received it into feet

Subs
Horwood (for Humphreys 52): Tried to get forward and add some drive to the left flank and link up with Monkhouse 6
Monkhouse (for Boyd 52): Restored to the left wing and one of the few Pools players to successfully beat an opponent at times 6
Poole (for Solano 72) (not used): Wright, Luscombe

MAN OF THE MATCH
KARL Hawley – a livewire in the box and his finishes were clinical, the second one especially