Dave Challinor reflects on how the 2-1 defeat at Barnet compares with previous National League losses against Harrogate Town and Woking

Pools were reduced to 10-men following Gavan Holohan’s sending off early in the second half before goals from Paul McCallum and Simeon Akinola either side of a Dan Sweeney own goal saw The Bees claim the three points at The Hive.

It was Challinor’s fourth league defeat as Hartlepool manager but the first where he felt he was able to focus on the positives.

“With defeats, I find it difficult to take the positives but that wasn’t the case with this match, there were plenty,” he said.

“It’s a defeat and I’m obviously disappointed, but it’s different to the Harrogate one for example because I was very angry afterwards and I don't think I hid that – Woking was similar.

“Don’t get me wrong, there’s a naivety about us and we’ve conceded poor, avoidable goals which I’m disappointed about.

“I’ll point the finger and be angry in the dressing room but at the same time I’ll tell the players the positives.

“We deserved something from what was a poor game but that was our own fault because of the errors we made.

“If I thought that was a poor performance, I’d say so. It’s was by no means the way I want us to play and a lot of things went against us but we had to adapt today and do the basics well.

“Good sides have got to be adaptable and find different ways of winning and getting results.

“It was a no risk performance which I don’t want, I want us to be expansive and get bodies forward but we were basic.

“The pitch and conditions dictated that but in terms of what I asked them to do, I couldn’t expect a great deal more.

“We’d like to try and get the ball down and move it around which we couldn’t do. The disappointing thing is the fact that it would have done us an awful lot of good if we’d have been able to hang on and get something from the game.”