Lewis Hawkins says Hartlepool United can't defend at Doncaster Rovers like they did at Barnet

A little over a fortnight ago Pools lost a two goal lead at Barnet in the space of second half minutes, going on to lose 3-2 at The Hive.

And having got their house in order last weekend, thanks to a 2-0 home win over Cheltenham, Hawkins says it’s about time Pools made life easy for themselves on the road.

“When we come away from home we are having to score three or four goals to win a game,” he said.

“We are making things tough for ourselves.

“We are the top scorers in the league away from home, but we are still not picking up points.

“There’s no point in turning up if we are going to be conceding three goals every game. We are making it impossible to win games.”

Despite winning two of their last three, both in impressive fashion at the Northern Gas & Power Stadium, Pools’ loss at the hands of Martin Allen’s men still haunts the side.

Manager Craig Hignett admitted it was playing on his mind at the Vic last Saturday.

But importantly Pools saw the game out, which is something they have failed to do on so many occasions this campaign.

Reflecting back, Hawkins said: “ We played so well.

“We scored goals and passed it well.

“But we have conceded 14 goals from set pieces this season.

“It is impossible to win games when we are conceding so many.

“We were so comfortable in the game. We were frustrating them.

“One lapse of concentration then heads seemed to go for five or 10 minutes and that was how we lost the game.

“We need the team to get behind the ball and keep our shape.

“We know what we we’re doing wrong. We just need to improve.”

Rovers have sent Pools an initial allocation of 504 seated tickets for othe game at The Keepmoat Stadium.

These are on sale now both in The Northern Gas and Power Ticket Office and on Pools’ online ticketing website.

Tickets will remain available in advance until 2pm this Friday, after which they will be made available to Pools fans at Doncaster prior to kick-off on the day of the game.

Prices: Adults £20, Seniors (60 and over) £16

Young Persons (17-20) £12, Juniors (12-16) £8

11 and Unders £5. Disabled supporters will pay as per their relevant category.