Dominic Scurr's verdict: Eventful FA Trophy defeat at Halifax Town highlights the importance three key players to Hartlepool United

Three penalties, a red card, Luke Williams starting, Luke Williams scoring, a two-goal comeback and a penalty shoot out – it was a busy FA Trophy third round tie at The Shay on Saturday afternoon.

But it was Halifax Town who had the last laugh after the match ended 3-3 as they progressed to the last-32 with a 4-2 penalty shootout win.

For the second year running, Dave Challinor’s side had fallen at the first hurdle in the Trophy as attentions now turn solely to the National League.

The Pools boss made eight changes from the side that were beaten 3-0 at Woking with Henrich Ravas, Joe Bunney, Tyler Magloire, Tom Crawford, Ryan Donaldson, Josh MacDonald, David Parkhouse and most notably Williams all coming into the side.

And after being 2-0 down early on in Surrey last weekend, a strong start would have been high on the agenda for Challinor's new-look team at The Shay.

Yet there was an alarming sense of deja vu as Lewis Cass – one of the few survivors from last weekend – conceded an early penalty after fouling the lively Gevaro Nepomuceno. Luke Summerfield stepped up to give the hosts the lead after 12-minutes.

And just two minutes later, Nepomuceno got the better of Cass once again and fired past Ravas to double Halifax’s lead.

The Newcastle United loanee has been a mainstay and a consistently solid performer in the Pools side so far this season but he struggled to deal with the pace and power of Nepomuceno as two errors of judgement left Pools with a lot to do.

Despite their dismal start to the match, Pools slowly but surely started to find a foothold in the game and they were given a golden opportunity to get back into it after Ryan Donaldson’s header was handled in the penalty area by Neill Byrne.

Williams, on his first competitive start in three and a half years, stepped up confidently to dispatch the spot kick and make it 2-1.

It was the 27-year-old’s first goal in a Pools shirt since February 2014 and one that took a lot of bravery given his significant injury problems over the past few years.

The goal and 45-minutes without any set-backs should come as a huge boost to Williams as he took his biggest step to date in what has been a long and turbulent road to recovery.

At 2-1, Pools had a bit of momentum behind them and the introduction of accomplished midfielders Nicky Featherstone and Gavan Holohan helped turn things in their favour.

Halifax conceded another penalty as Jeff King was shown a straight red card for handling the ball on the line. This marked the start of a frantic six-minute spell as Featherstone drew Pools level with the resulting spot kick.

Immediately after new signing Billy Chadwick capitalised on a mistake from Tyler Magloire to put Halifax back in front with a tidy finish from the edge of the box.

Then Holohan stepped up to round off a fine move by caressing the ball into the left corner of the goal with his left foot to make it 3-3.

Despite their man advantage, Pools couldn't find a winner late on as penalties ensued.

Halifax were deadly from the spot, converting all four of their attempts. Pools started strongly with Featherstone and Luke Armstrong converting before Ryan Donaldson and Holohan both saw their efforts sail over the crossbar as The Shaymen progressed.

And in typical Pools fashion, a thrilling and thoroughly entertaining cup tie ended in disappointment.

The significantly rotated Pools squad was far from their first choice starting line-up and Challinor will have to take responsibility for that. It was a match that highlighted the strengths of the players not involved in the starting line-up rather than those that were.

Pools had players starting with points to prove. Whether it be due to a lack of game time or a dip in performance levels, the game provided these players with an opportunity.

And other than Williams, none of them really stepped up to the plate to prove their point.

Featherstone and Holohan have been mainstays in the Pools side in the league this season and their absence in the opening 45-minutes was certainly felt as Pools missed their composure and experience in midfield.

“People potentially don’t appreciate their importance to the side until they’re not in the team,” Challinor said after the game.

The Trophy provides a good opportunity to rotate your squad, but you get the feeling the match could have been a different story with those two involved from the start.

Despite missing the crucial penalty in the shootout, Holohan remains Pools’ most persistent attacking threat along with Armstrong. He's now got five goals for the season with no other player coming close after 16 games.

In defence, the lack of experience and naivety continues to be exposed with individual errors proving costly. It’s now six goals conceded in two games for Pools’ largely unproven back line.

Cass, Magloire and Timi Odusina have all been brought in from youth football while Ryan Johnson has been handed an opportunity coming up as a young player from the division below. It was never going to be perfect, but these players need to start learning on the job.

And you can’t underestimate the importance of an experienced head like Gary Liddle at the back.

He hasn’t featured since the 6-0 FA Cup win at Ilkeston Town and it’s no coincidence that Pools’ form has dipped considerably since then.

The 34-year-old is due back next month and the sooner he’s back playing for Pools the better as they now look to kick-on in the league.

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