Barrow boss praises Hartlepool United's 'never say die' attitude

Keith Curle’s side suffered a nightmare opening 45 minutes as they allowed the game to run away from them thanks to goals from Josh Gordon, Ben Whitfield and Billy Waters inside 21 minutes.

But despite the game effectively being over, Hartlepool, according to Bluebirds boss Wild, improved after the break and frustrated Barrow when taking their clean sheet away from them with Christopher Missilou's debut goal in the final 15 minutes.

“I did talk about keeping up that tempo and doubling our stats [in the second half],” said Wild.

“But they came out and had a go. One of Hartlepool’s big traits is they never say die and they always come back and score late on in games and one of the things today was they’ve come and had a go in the second half and they got after us.

“It’s easy to play when you’re losing, don’t get me wrong, but they had a right go in the second half and we didn’t match their levels which is frustrating but, luckily enough, we’d done what we needed to do in the first half.”

That first half included a second mistake in as many league games for goalkeeper Ben Killip, after he was punished by striker Danny Rose in the 1-0 defeat at Stevenage last week.

Killip got caught in possession outside of his area inside five minutes to allow Barrow’s top scorer Gordon to curl into an empty net to open the scoring before he was beaten again four minutes later by a powerful strike from Whitfield inside the area.

Wild had been present at the Suit Direct Stadium for Hartlepool’s FA Cup first round replay with Solihull Moors earlier in the week where he witnessed Killip produce a remarkable display to ensure their passage into the second round.

And the Barrow boss admits it was an unfortunate mistake for Killip to make on the back of that performance after praising the start made by his side at Holker Street.

“We had a long discussion about how we started the game. One of our biggest traits is how we start games and to come out and add that ruthless edge to that start was a fantastic start to the game,” said Wild.

“We’ve got a good, honest, bunch of footballers who try their best every week. I can never fault their effort and their application. We pride ourselves on how we start in home games and you saw that today.

“It was an unfortunate mistake from the keeper. I’ve been bigging Ben Killip up all week and how good he is and how he makes really good saves. It’s an unfortunate mistake, but it’s a really good finish from Josh.”

The result left contrasting emotions at full-time with Barrow now up to fourth in the league while Hartlepool prop up the table with just two wins from 19 games this season.