Dominic Scurr's verdict: Disappointment despite 3-1 win over Wealdstone shows Hartlepool United have the right mentality to challenge in the National League

It took a while but Hartlepool United have picked up right where they left off to start 2021.
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A first competitive meeting with Wealdstone saw Pools claim their fourth successive victory to remain second in the National League table.

The records will show a 3-1 victory for Pools with goals from Luke Armstrong, Rhys Oates and Nicky Featherstone followed by Jacob Mendy’s late consolation – but that doesn’t do justice to how things played out at Victoria Park on Saturday.

A game in doubt?

Hartlepool United's Rhys Oates just fails to turn the ball into the net  during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Wealdstone at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 9th January 2021. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Hartlepool United's Rhys Oates just fails to turn the ball into the net  during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Wealdstone at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 9th January 2021. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Hartlepool United's Rhys Oates just fails to turn the ball into the net during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Wealdstone at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 9th January 2021. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
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Less than 24-hours before kick-off, Hartlepool announced that a pitch inspection would be taking place at 8:30am on Saturday morning with persistent sub-zero temperatures forecast overnight.

And with last weekend’s postponement at Halifax Town still fresh in people’s minds, there was real trepidation as to weather the fixture would go ahead.

Pools had won three games in six days to end 2021 but it had been almost two weeks since their 1-0 win at Notts County, any further delay would have been far from ideal.

As it turned out, we had nothing to be worried about as the pitch was quickly deemed playable following the inspection. Groundsman Dave Brown and his magic frost covers worked wonders to get the game on in Baltic conditions.

Rhys Oates of Hartlepool United celebrates after scoring their second goal   during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Wealdstone at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 9th January 2021. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Rhys Oates of Hartlepool United celebrates after scoring their second goal   during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Wealdstone at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 9th January 2021. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Rhys Oates of Hartlepool United celebrates after scoring their second goal during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Wealdstone at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 9th January 2021. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
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Had Pools’ ground staff and volunteers not acted quickly, we could have very well not had a game this weekend. The three points is as much down to them as any player.

Chances galore

After beating Notts County away in their previous match, Pools made two changes with Mark Shelton and David Ferguson returning from injury in place of Tom Crawford who dropped to the bench and Joe Bunney who dropped out entirely.

And from the very start, Wealdstone looked there for the taking. A newly-promoted part-time club who had made a long journey up to Victoria Park on the day to face a Pools side in good form looking to claim a fourth straight win.

That’s usually the recipe for a narrow home defeat for Pools, and there were some early fears that things could play out that way on Saturday.

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Pools dominated the early exchanges and created chance after chance with Armstrong and Oates both coming close before the pair squandered a golden opportunity to take the lead.

Wealdstone goalkeeper Stuart Moore completely missed an attempted clearance as Oates charged down on goal but could only keep the ball in play. He pulled it back to Armstrong who went down inside the area before he could get a shot away as The Stones somehow cleared the danger when it looked a certain goal.

And when Armstrong and Ryan Johnson both saw further chances go begging, it risked being one of those afternoons for Pools as Wealdstone started to threaten on the counter.

Breakthrough

A goal finally came for Pools in the 35th minute as Shelton showed some great footwork along the byline to get into space and set-up Armstrong for another tidy finish into the bottom left corner.

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Armstrong’s sixth goal in as many National League games has seen him close in on the top goalscorers in the division despite only being at Pools for a month.

Pools have never had an issue creating chances and getting the ball into dangerous areas. But Armstrong’s knack of being in the right place at the right time has been a key reason why the side have now won five of their last six league games since his arrival.

After taking the lead, the chances kept coming for Pools with Gavan Holohan, Shelton and Ferguson all coming close before half-time.

Sealing the win

Although Pools were dominant, at 1-0, Wealdstone remained in the game and came close early in the second half. Moses Emmanuel pounced on some hesitant defending on the edge of the box before being stopped brilliantly by the charging Ben Killip.

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Despite some increased threat from The Stones, Hartlepool were able to put the game to bed within 15-minutes of the restart.

Oates tapped in his third goal in four games to make it 2-0 before Featherstone found the bottom left corner following a scramble in the Wealdstone penalty area.

Holohan and Shelton both squandered golden opportunities to extend the lead further as Pools started to get a bit sloppy.

The substitutions with 25-minutes to play seemed to impact the hosts’ rhythm slightly as Wealdstone ended the game well.

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Mendy made it 3-1 with a fine 25-yard drive into the bottom right corner, and it was no less than the away side deserved.

As good as Pools were for 65-minutes, they looked almost panicked in the closing stages as Wealdstone twice hit the crossbar and had an effort cleared off the line by substitute Luke Williams.

It was a late scare for Dave Challinor’s side but one they were able to see out and claim yet another win. It’s the first time Pools have won four in a row since Challinor took charge.

They’ve also won their last four a Victoria Park, scoring 12 and conceding just two – a huge contrast to what they were like earlier in the season, winning just one of their opening six games, scoring four and conceding 10.

Food for thought

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As defender Jamie Sterry said after the game, a better side would have punished Pools on Saturday. As good as they were for 65-minutes, they squandered numerous chances and lost composure in the latter stages of the game.

It was an imperfect but encouraging display nonetheless.

Sterry and Ferguson as wing-backs allowed Pools to play almost a 3-1-4-2 formation at times given how advanced they were. Man of the match Shelton did everything but score as he continued his fine run of form since returning to the side.

And the fact that the Pools players came away from a fourth successive home win slightly disappointed tells you everything you need to know about this side and the standards they’ve set themselves.

Long may it continue.

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