Dieseruvwe does it again but slow second half costs Hartlepool United: Key takeaways from Halifax Town defeat

Max Wright and Adam Senior were the latest to capitalise on Hartlepool’s defensive weaknesses as they converted from corners either side of half-time at the Shay, sandwiching a 10th goal of the season for Emmanuel Dieseruvwe who struck on his return to the club he left in the summer.

John Askey’s side had their opportunities in the second half with Dieseruvwe and Josh Umerah bringing a string of standout saves from Sam Johnson in the Halifax goal, but Pools would make another bus journey home without any points in tow as they continue to slide down the National League table.

The Mail looks at some of the key talking points from West Yorkshire:

John Askey’s latest defensive selection

After being left perplexed by the latest defensive mishap in Hartlepool's defeat at Aldershot, Askey again shuffled his deck for the trip to Halifax with two changes, both coming in defence.

Emmanuel Onariase and Zak Johnson were the two to drop out – Johnson an enforced change through injury while Onariase was left out by Askey for the first time this season.

Charlie Seaman returned to the side at right wing-back which moved Luke Hendrie into right centre-back. Alex Lacey kept his place despite his part in Aldershot’s winner in the centre of the back three, with new signing Joe Mattock at left centre-back and David Ferguson left wing-back.

It brought a better balance to Hartlepool having seen Johnson, a right footer, operating on the left of the back three, as well as more experience with Mattock bringing a wealth of it from the Football League.

But did it translate? In essence, no. Hartlepool conceded twice and fell to another defeat.

There were some aspects which worked with Pools playing more passes into the front line from defence in periods of the first half, but that became part of their problems at the beginning of the second half when Halifax swamped Pools almost inside their only penalty area for 10 minutes.

Pools were forced into several cheap giveaways with that pressure, ultimately, telling when Senior restored Halifax’s lead from yet another set piece they were unable to deal with.

Askey hooked Seaman midway through the second half before Lacey was forced off with an injury which means there is likely to be another defensive shake-up against Rochdale as Pools’ quest for solidity and continuity goes on.

Where there’s Dieseruvwe there’s a chance

It’s fair to say things are not going right for Hartlepool at this moment in time.

Whether they piece together parts of a performance or not they are finding ways to lose games on a worryingly regular basis.

And yet they continue to possess a chance in most games given they own one of the league's hottest commodities in Dieseruvwe.

The striker continued his blistering start to life at Hartlepool with another goal to his name – that’s 10 in 16 league appearances since he swapped the Shay for Victoria Park.

Dieseruvwe was the pantomime villain of the night, with his every touch jeered. It was perhaps then inevitable that he would have his say on the field when reacting quickest to power home from inside the area.

Pools’ talisman was up for it from the get-go as you could see him visibly gesticulating to his team-mates throughout the first half on where to be and how to aid him.

And he would have been rewarded with a second goal but for what Halifax coach Paul Oakes described as a ‘wonder save’ from Johnson.

Nevertheless, Hartlepool have a man in form and a striker who is a perfect fit for them at this level.

Askey hinted at the need to simplify his approach after the game by getting more balls into the box, quicker, which may benefit Dieseruvwe further based on the evidence we saw in the opening month of the campaign where most of his joy came from getting on the end of crosses.

Hartlepool can’t continue in their need to score three or four times every week, their defensive problems simply must be addressed, but in Dieseruvwe they at least know they have somebody more than capable of taking an opportunity for them which has to be a positive for players to know they can, more often than not, rely on their man leading the line.

Hartlepool’s ‘shocking’ restart

As said, however, the defensive problems must come to an end at some stage if Pools are to mount a play-off challenge.

Where at the weekend Hartlepool’s downfall came courtesy of a minute of madness at Aldershot, here Pools were overrun at the beginning of the second half.

Askey’s side simply could not get going and invited pressure with a series of cheap giveaways as Halifax penned them deep inside their own half.

Instead of clearing their lines, Pools were trying to play out and were caught time and time again with the Shaymen’s front three of Florent Hoti, Millenic Alli and Aaron Cosgrave causing no end of problems.

Pete Jameson was called upon a number of times whilst Pools remained erratic in their defending of corners before Luke Hendrie escaped when losing possession on the edge of his own area.

It was only a matter of time before Halifax regained the lead.

“It was shocking,” Askey declared of his side’s start to the second half.

“When you go out you have decisions to make. The message early on in the game, whether it’s the first half or the second half is to get the ball forward and hopefully it stretches the opposition and then you can play.

“If it’s working then you can keep doing what you’re doing, but usually the opposition have to drop off and it gives you the space to play in. But to think you can pass your way out on the edge of the 18-yard box under pressure is ludicrous.

“They should have learned from Aldershot. After the game I’ve gone berserk but still it doesn’t seem to sink in, so what does that tell you?”

Are Hartlepool still playing for Askey?

It’s a question which has started to creep into the discourse surrounding Hartlepool at the moment given how frequently players are, seemingly, failing to carry out the instructions given to them by Askey, with the Hartlepool boss is left to pick up the pieces.

“We’ve done well to get ourselves back in the game at 1-1,” he said.“The goals we conceded are very avoidable. But after getting ourselves back in the game at half-time you think in the second half you can come out and have a right go and it was the complete opposite. For five or 10 minutes we just didn’t clear our lines and we allowed them to put pressure on us, resulting in a corner which they scored from.

“Again it’s just really poor from us not to do the simple things. You try and hammer it home, which you do every week, but for some reason it doesn’t seem to go in.”

Yet when asking whether there remains a fight and a desire in the players under Askey, to their credit they were able to stem the tide in the second half and grow back into the game.

In adversity they may have completely folded and been on the end of a heavier defeat. Yet, after the introduction of Umerah, Pools slowly started giving Halifax something to think about and, in the end, can perhaps count themselves a little unfortunate not to have taken anything form the game owing to a trio of fine saves from Johnson.

“One thing they did after conceding in the second half was they had a go and we could have scored two or three – their keeper has made some great saves,” said Askey.

“We did get more crosses in, there was more energy and a bit more grit and determination the longer the game went on.

“It showed there if we get balls into the box we’ve got players who can capitalise on it, even though we didn’t score from the chances. On another day we would have.

“If they’d have dropped their heads and gone under that would have been a massive concern. But that was the one thing you can say, they kept going and on another day they’d have got something out of the game.”