Four big talking points following Hartlepool United's 1-0 home defeat to Wrexham as Ryan Reynolds watches on

The 1-0 home defeat to the Dragons stretched Pools winless run in the league to four games as their early-season promise looks to be quickly dissipating.

Elliot Durrell’s 20-yard strike proved to be the difference in what was one of two shots on target for Wrexham over the 90-minutes.

At the other end, Pools squandered several decent chances as their lack of firepower in the final third was once again highlighted.

The build-up

Tuesday night’s match was overshadowed by this week’s news that Wrexham’s takeover by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney had been approved by the Wrexham Supporters Trust.

It's undoubtedly non-league football’s most high-profile takeover move to date and almost fitting that the first match since the news emerged on Monday came against Pools, a club approached by representatives of the pair over the summer.

Unfortunately, the only money Reynolds would be investing in Pools would be the £9.99 fee to watch the live stream of the match from across the pond.

Hartlepool had made changes to their live stream set-up in an attempt to address previous issues and this seemed to prove effective based on audience feedback.

Given the status of Wrexham’s new owners, football fans across the world will be keen to keep an eye on their progress. For Pools, it's just a case of thinking about what could have been, but we move on.

Ahead of the game, the Pools PA playlist made clear references to Wrexham’s takeover news with Juice Newton’s Angel of the Morning and DMX’s X Gon’ Give it to Ya – two songs that played a prominent role in Reynold’s 2016 hit film Deadpool – blaring out around Victoria Park.

It marks the likely start of a long run of references to the popular work of Reynolds and McElhenney that will become tied to Wrexham as the club opens itself up to an entirely new audience.

Pools lack firepower

It’s been obvious from the start of the season that Pools lack a goalscorer. Early results papered over those cracks, but now with one goal in four matches, it’s becoming a real issue.

The side are creating chances, Luke Molyneux had two good opportunities in the first half at Wrexham, as did Tom Crawford.

At least one of those should have been converted but Pools failed to make their early dominance count.

An injury to starting striker Mason Bloomfield inside the opening minute certainly didn’t help things especially as his replacement David Parkhouse had another evening to forget.

In Bloomfield, Pools have a decent target man who can hold the ball up but he has never looked close to scoring in league matches so far and is yet to register a proper shot on target.

Sheffield United loanee Parkhouse has looked well off the pace in recent weeks with a poor touch and inability to find the target proving troublesome.

At just 21, he’s still learning the game and should improve as the season goes on – but Pools need a goalscorer now.

Seven games into the new league season and Bloomfield, Parkhouse, Molyneux, Rhys Oates, Joe Grey and Ryan Donaldson combined are being outscored by own goals.

Perhaps it's Challinor’s significantly reduced budget starting to show. But even a player like Aidan Keena – who Pools allowed to join Falkirk for free in the summer despite being under contract at Victoria Park – would have made a difference as he knows where the net is.

At the moment, Pools are relying on a moment of brilliance from one of their flair players to get them a goal as the lack of trust in the forward players to deliver is becoming apparent.

Early season form

Pools’ late win against Aldershot Town on the opening day of the season remains their only victory at Victoria Park this season.

Since then, they’ve beaten a poor Chesterfield side and a Maidenhead outfit who should have been out of sight at half-time only to capitulate in the second period.

On Tuesday, they faced another average side in Wrexham yet came undone by the visitors’ only real chance of the game.

The match was not too dissimilar from Pools’ defeat to Ebbsfleet by the same scoreline last season, minus the controversy of course. The referee allowed The Dragons to manage the game well after they took the lead as they frustrated Pools.

After seven matches, Hartlepool sit 11th in the National League, two points off the play-offs and eight behind leaders Torquay United with a game in hand.

Two defeats in seven is hardly the end of the world – it took the side just two matches to achieve that feat last season – but there are clear problems that need addressing if Pools have any hope of bouncing back.

Post match interviews

Almost an hour after the full-time whistle, Challinor arrived at the Rink End for his post-match press debrief.

At this point, some of the local press had already decided to call it a day as it emerged that Challinor had been speaking with Hartlepool chairman Raj Singh – never a good sign after a third successive defeat in all competitions.

Ever since Challinor arrived at Pools, his interviews have consistently been honest and insightful. You listen to what he’s saying and you believe it.

On Tuesday, things had a slightly different tone. Challinor was fighting his corner, defending his decisions and hitting back at supporters who are quick to point fingers when things don’t go Hartlepool’s way.

"If things don’t go as I want them to, I’ll walk away from the football club, not a problem,” was a line that stood out as it’s the first time Challinor has even suggested walking away from Pools in such a manner.

Perhaps this was just a throwaway comment, but it shows the Hartlepool manager's growing frustration with the situation.

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