Colchester United 1 Hartlepool United 1: The key takeaways as Pools see first league win snatched away

Pools were within 100 seconds of backing up their first win of the season, a Papa Johns Trophy success over Harrogate Town, with a much-needed, crucial, first league win of the season in Essex.

Wes McDonald’s crisp first half finish looked to have been enough to edge out a U’s side who, for all of their possession, never really cut through Hartlepool, until substitute Beryly Lubala sent a dagger into the heart of Paul Hartley and his side in the fourth of six added minutes to grab a point when he headed beyond Ben Killip.

And here are some of the key takeaways from Pools’ away draw.

Striker options highlight deadline failings

It has been well documented in the days since Thursday’s transfer deadline just how much momentum shifted for Pools on the transfer front.

With 48-hours of the window remaining, Hartley was primed to complete three or four deals in which he believed would have strengthened his side for the months ahead only to see those deals collapse for what he has described as ‘various reasons.’

The arrival of Barnsley loanee Clarke Oduor as the clock struck 11pm to signal the end of the window was a welcome one, but it also indicated the end of Pools’ hunt for another striker.

And just two days on from the window closing, and Hartley’s frustration at not being able to add another striker, the repercussions were laid all to bare.

Both Josh Umerah, who has represented a solid piece of business based on his displays in the opening month of the campaign, and Mikael Ndjoli, who scored twice as Pools secured their first win of the season against Harrogate, did not travel to Essex for the fixture with Colchester with both out injured.

It meant Livingston loanee Jack Hamilton was the only recognised striker in the squad of 18.

And while his potential has been on show in loan deals in Scotland in recent seasons, he has yet to flourish in his brief outings so far at the Suit Direct Stadium.

Hamilton fired a couple of efforts off target and showed one or two progressive signs of build-up play but was also found wanting in terms of being able to hold the ball up and offer a presence in the final third similar to Umerah.

“We came with a young striker who did OK today,” Hartley said of Hamilton.

“It wasn’t easy for him. He’s a young player and we’ve tried to just play one up and one off him.

“Sometimes you’re only as good as your strikers and we’ve not got many available to us at this moment in time.”

Hamilton was subbed midway through the second half as Hartley had to supplement his attack with the use of players more natural as wingers or advanced midfielders.

It is why the ball kept coming back at them in the second half as Colchester pressed for an equaliser.

Too often, Pools were clearing the ball away from their own 18-yard area only to find themselves immediately back under pressure with no outlet in the final third.

Hartley has agonised over the need for another striker throughout the entire month of August and here we could see why.

The hope for Pools is that Umerah, in particular, and Ndjoli can make swift returns to action otherwise games have the potential to follow a similar pattern as here.

Inviting pressure

As mentioned, while some of the Colchester pressure in the second half can be attributed to a lack of an outlet for Pools, a portion of that can also be assigned to the team seemingly dropping five yards or more deeper than in the first half.

Naturally, as games wear on, and teams look to cling onto slender leads, players can subconsciously take a step back. But that seemed to be the case from the off in the second half with much of the game played in the Pools half.

To their credit, Pools largely defended quite well, with Rollin Menayese, Alex Lacey and Euan Murray getting in the way and clearing most of which came their way, with the hosts not really slicing through Pools and carving out any real clear cut openings, despite their possession.

But that instinctive nature to drop a little deeper only contributed to the wind in Colchester’s sails before, what seemed inevitable, the pressure told in stoppage time.

Ferguson left out

Although Hartley was forced into a number of the decisions made in his team selection, one where he was not was at left full-back where the Pools boss kept faith in former Celtic man Brody Paterson ahead of David Ferguson.

Ferguson was dropped for the Papa Johns Trophy tie with Harrogate after a disappointing afternoon at Leyton Orient and yet it remained a surprise to see his name listed among the substitutes at Colchester.

Ferguson has been a key player for Pools since his arrival and it will be interesting to see where Hartley places his faith for the visit of Doncaster Rovers.

The wait goes on

We’ve seen plenty of emotion from Hartley this week.

From the joy and relief of gaining a first win over Harrogate, to the frustration of transfer deadline day and to here, the despair of a late sucker-punch. Who’d be a manager, right?

But while we remain in the formative stages of Hartley’s reign, results like this are not the kind to harbour optimism from.

Deep into stoppage time, Pools had to be able to see this game out against what, on the day, was a far from convincing Colchester team.

It means it is two points dropped at a time where Pools need to start making inroads if they continue to hold aspirations of being competitive this season.