Barrow 3-1 Hartlepool United: Keith Curle's side fall back to the bottom after first half blitz

Keith Curle’s side were blitzed inside 21 minutes of the first half as goals from Josh Gordon, Ben Whitfield and Billy Waters had the game wrapped up for the hosts with Pools chasing shadows, and when they weren’t they were standing motionless and despondent in an abject opening 45 minutes.

Gordon scored his 10th of the season for the Bluebirds when pouncing on a Ben Killip mistake, just seven days on from his error at Stevenage, to curl into an empty net before Whitfield powered in a second four minutes later.

And Waters added a third to effectively kill the game midway through the first half when both he and Gordon raced clear of a static Hartlepool defence who stood and watched as Gordon squared to Waters to bypass Killip and tap into an empty net.

Pools were handed a glimmer of hope when new signing Christopher Missilou grabbed what would turn out to be a consolation on his debut when firing through a crowded penalty area 12 minutes from time as Pools slumped to yet another away defeat.

Curle’s men made the trip West to take on a Barrow side who appear to have put their 2021-22 struggles behind them as they arrived at Holker Street fifth in the table with the third best home record in the division under Pete Wild.

Wild was one of the names heavily linked with the vacancy at the Suit Direct Stadium in the summer before opting for Holker Street in a move which is reaping its rewards with Pools onto their second manager of the campaign and in desperate need at the foot of the table.

After confirming the signing of midfielder Missilou less than 90 minutes before kick-off, Curle made the bold decision to hand the former French youth international his debut alongside Nicky Featherstone and Mohamad Sylla.

Missilou is a player Curle knows from his time at Northampton Town in League One, where the 30-year-old made 20 appearances before moving on to Swindon Town.

But the decision to start Missilou was significant given his lack of game time since leaving Oldham Athletic at the end of last season following their relegation to the National League.

Missilou replaced Callum Cooke, who had been enjoying a run in the starting line-up while injuries continue. And it is perhaps those injuries which convinced Curle to bring in Missilou after confirming Tom Crawford’s long-term absence following surgery on an ankle problem.

Missilou was not the only surprise in the Hartlepool line-up as former Rangers winger Jake Hastie returned for his first league start since the 4-2 defeat at Leyton Orient in August. Hastie and Missilou were two of three changes from the FA Cup first round replay with Solihull Moors as leading scorer Josh Umerah missed out through suspension with Theo Robinson back in.

But those changes failed to make any impact as Hartlepool were second best by a long way in an opening 45 minutes as they went in 3-0 behind at the break. The gulf in class, and attitude, significant.

The Bluebirds needed just four minutes to take the lead and after a nightmare experience at Stevenage a week ago, Killip had another moment to forget when he came out of his area to deal with a long ball forward before hesitating which saw the ball trapped under his feet which allowed Waters to poke away into the path of Gordon who curled a deft effort into an empty net.

And things quickly got worse for Curle’s side as Josh Kay found space midway inside the Hartlepool half before threading a good ball into the path of Whitfield, who had acres of space on the right, and he was able to cut inside onto his left foot and power through Killip to double the lead.

The plight of Hartlepool was typified when David Fergsuon went down struggling with an injury and needed to be attended to by the Barrow physio, with Pools yet to appoint a replacement following Michael Harding’s exit.

Ferguson appeared in some discomfort but, remarkably, had to wait another 10 minutes before being substituted despite visibly struggling, by which time Barrow added a third.

And yet again it was all too easy for the home side as Niall Canavan split a high Pools defensive line for Gordon and Waters to run onto as the Hartlepool backline stood and watched - with only Reghan Tumilty following up to track back, albeit too late, as Gordon squared past Killip into Waters who had an open goal.

At 3-0, the home side were able to take their foot off the gas and coast with Hartlepool barely threatening until Hastie brought a good save from Paul Farman on the stroke of half-time after.

It was disjointed, dispirited and utterly despairing from Hartlepool in the first half as Curle made a double change at the interval replacing captain Featherstone and Robinson with Cooke and Joe Grey coming on.

Their introduction created a little spark when both linked with Hastie as Cooke dragged wide before Sylla tested Farman with a deflected effort soon after.

Pools enjoyed plenty of possession in the second half, with Barrow easing off, but without really threatening the home side with anything clear cut as time ticked away on any unlikely comeback.

The 345 travelling Hartlepool fans did get a moment to cheer, however, as Missilou met Sylla’s knockdown to power through a crowded penalty area beyond Farman but, ultimately, it was another away day to forget leaving more concerns for Curle’s side.

Barrow XI: Farman, Brough, Canavan, Waters (Nwabuokei ‘61), Gordon (Bennett ‘80), Kay, White (Moyo ‘81), Neal, Warren (Kenlock ‘70), Ray, Whitfield (Stevens ‘70)

Subs: Lillis

Hartlepool United XI: Killip, Tumilty, Murray, Ferguson (Oduor ‘26), Paterson, Sylla, Featherstone © (Cooke ‘45), Missilou, Hastie (McDonald ‘82), Robinson (Grey ‘45), Hamilton

Subs: Letheren, Taylor, Ndjoli

Referee: Lee Doughty