Hartlepool United v Scunthorpe United

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

League Cup

Hartlepool United :
Lee-Barrett, Sweeney, Nelson, Collins, Humphreys, Foley, Power (Boland 71), Liddle, Robson, Brown (Mackay 78), Porter (Barker 74)
Subs not used:
Budtz, McCunnie, Rowell, Tait

Scunthorpe United :
Lillis, Byrne, Iriekpen, Milne (Wright 66), Williams, Thompson, McCann, Morris (Sparrow 46), Hurst, Hooper, Forte (May 55)
Subs not used:
Pressman, Lea, Winn, Picton

SULSESC REPORT

by Bob Dook at Victoria Park

A warming glow of Kashmiri saffron coloured light seemed incongruous with my thoughts of Hartlepool. Some subliminal message had triggered the thought of a match report and gazing out over the Arabian Sea watching the sunset seemed hardly the stimulus. Mumbai was heaving and the respite found on Marine Drive was only temporary, before the departure of the sun for other bright lights ringed into the necklace of Bombay. Hardly Hartlepool you might say, but I was near the sea, the place was dirty and smelt of the great unwashed and the pungent aroma of urine had brought back memories of the West Hartlepool Rugby Club's toilets. In addition, Wankhede Stadium was nearby and something in the name had kindled a thought of the Victoria Ground.

Mumbai is one of the piss-pots of India and could or moreover should be considered as a "twin" for Hartlepool. Indeed, the whole of the built-up areas in NE England would be suitable for twinning. There is a population discrepancy of 5:1 in favour of Mumbai over this region of England, but the similarities are striking. It doesn't need a think tank to report that Sunderland needs closing and people moved to Oxford. How obvious was that! Yes, twinning would be the answer and then rename the region "Geordie Mix".

The drive up to Hartlepool from Burton had been pleasant enough, a meander through the Yorksire Wolds and into that bastion of grubness that is Middleborough, over the Transporter Bridge before taking the less than scenic coastal route through Seal Sands at the mouth of the Tees to Seaton Carew's depressing seafront and then into Hartlepool. Cold, wet, miserable Tuesday summer evening, it could only be the Victoria Ground. Fortunately, I had Steve Wingate for company. Steve and I go back many decades, as does Bob Steels, who joined us for a pre-match chat. Analyses out-poured and we all concluded that this match would end up in defeat for the Iron, albeit it narrow. The match proved to be disastrous from both a performance and result point of view. We were dire.

Lillis continued to show a lack of confidence and his handling was not good enough. He can kick a ball and shot save, but his gathering and holding and command of his 6-yard box is appalling. Not sure if he is lacking in confidence or just isn't good enough. The back line was disjointed and overall poor. The best of the lot, Kenny "Sectioned" Milne looks an excellent acquisition. He's an old-fashioned centre half in the Peter "Noddy" Neale mode, who I expect to give us good service in L1. Pity he fell over with a damaged knee and had to leave the field. Our full backs were woeful, Byrne is not quick enough and Williams cannot defend properly. The number of goals he costs us is criminal. The sooner we acquire a good defender in the left full back position, the better. The midfield is basically unbalanced. We have no defensive player in there and Hartlepool were allowed to run through us like a proverbial knife. Two of Hartlepool's goals came from full back errors. Their third was a simple header direct from a corner, after a player lost a marker. Again the need for a defensive midfielder. Upfront, Hayes and Hooper tried, but with a combination of poor ball and ineptitude, particularly in case of the former, we didn't threaten Pool's goal.

The performance was Conference level at best, I guess. Not that I have seen much of Conference football, but it certainly did not look like L1 football.. Both teams were poor, but maybe their minds were on the league. The result was the right one and the scoreline did not flatter Hartlepool. As is often said, "It can only get better."