Hartlepool United 0-2 Crawley Town: Pools down and out - key takeaways from crushing defeat

In front of their biggest crowd of the season, Hartlepool fell to a desperate 2-0 defeat – one which all but guarantees their return to non-league football.

Dom Telford headed in from close range five minutes before half-time before doubling both his and Crawley’s tally midway through the second half to seal Hartlepool’s fate.

And here are some of the key takeaways on a day of despair at the Suit Direct Stadium.

Hartlepool United’s hangover

There was concern heading into the fixture with Crawley.

Having seen their eight game unbeaten run ended in such a lacklustre manner at Newport, John Askey’s side followed it up with an eerily similar performance at Salford with back-to-back 2-0 defeats dropping them back into the relegation zone and three points adrift of Crawley.

Still, though, it meant they arrived having fulfilled Askey's wish when appointed of being within touching distance of Crawley when they visited the Suit Direct Stadium where a win would see the ball back in Hartlepool’s court.

Unfortunately, however, Hartlepool’s hangover from those two away defeats slumped into this crucial encounter.

Where in the eight game unbeaten run we saw a spark, creativity and confidence, here, again, we saw a fatigued performance lacking ideas and littered with errors.

“I don’t know,” Askey told The Mail when asked what went wrong over the last three games.

“Newport we were lacklustre and we couldn’t seem to get going. Whether in the previous games we’d been giving everything we could and they just hit a brick wall, I don’t know.

“There’s maybe one or two injuries we could have done without but we’ve got a very thin squad. We’ve got plenty in the squad but it’s very thin on players we can pick. Maybe that was something to do with it.

“Salford, we started brightly enough but they always looked the better team.

“And here we never really got going. Again our defending was poor for the two goals and when we had an opportunity to get back into the game we didn’t take it.

“It’s difficult to know what to say really.”

Hartlepool United’s failure to handle the occasion

While this was not a cup final per se, the saying of ‘playing the game and not the occasion’ still rang true.

Hartlepool supporters were in their seats long before kick-off generating the kind of atmosphere most of the players have not heard at the Suit Direct Stadium.

There was a hostility towards things but, unfortunately, Hartlepool weren’t able to use that to their benefit.

Right from the off they looked nervous. They were loose in possession and, in Edon Pruti’s case, erratic in the challenge.

Crawley settled much better and, as a result, were able to take a little bit of the sting out of things.

But they were helped by Hartlepool’s uncertainty.

Dan Dodds and Matt Dolan collided with one another when going for the same ball to allow a Crawley attack at goal. Dodds, and a number in the defence, were rash with their clearances as Crawley were able to play plenty of the first half inside Hartlepool’s defensive third.

Even those supposedly more technical with the ball at their feet such as Callum Cooke and Dan Kemp were loose in possession, handing it back to Crawley too often.

The players’ nerves then translated somewhat into the stands producing something of a vicious circle in the first half.

And while, initially, the second half improved, Telford’s second goal stifled things completely as emotions turned to anger in the stands and proceedings turned to desperation on the field.

“We huffed and puffed. We got into one or two decent positions but it either didn’t fall for us or when we got wide the crossing was poor. It was a poor display,” said Askey.

“When you’ve got 6,000-odd home supporters, supporting like they do, then as a manager you shouldn’t have to say much. We all know what the occasion was so if you can’t lift yourself for that then you’re not really going to lift yourself for any game.”

Cheap goals cost Hartlepool again

With that said, Hartlepool could have produced their best performance of the season but if they were to give away goals like they did, the second in particular, they never stood a chance.

Telford headed in almost at free will from inside the six-yard box to open the scoring after two Crawley players had again found themselves in space at the back post, outnumbering those in blue and white.

Where there has been an organisation to Askey’s side in the main, this trifecta of defeats has seen some of the old habits from earlier in the season creep in with players going awry and a distinct lack of leadership throughout.

But if the first goal was sloppy, the second goal was downright awful.

Crawley went from goalkeeper to the back of Hartlepool’s net in three touches.

Corey Addai’s long goal kick made it to the edge of the penalty area where two players in red shirts were beyond the entire Hartlepool defence, with Telford taking a sublime touch to pluck it out of the air and finish.

It was route one at its finest and it typified why Hartlepool are heading back out of the Football League.

Askey described it as 'Sunday morning stuff' from his side but that may be a disservice to Sunday morning.

Throughout the entire season Hartlepool have given away soft goals but this was, in a game of this magnitude, arguably the worst.

Askey had brought in Dolan to start in the centre of defence, leaning on his experience over 19-year-old Taylor Foran. And yet it was Dolan who found himself chasing Telford from Addai’s goal kick.

Defensive injuries have not helped any of the three Hartlepool managers this season, and yet there is only so much a manager can do if his team are to concede goals like that.

Did John Askey’s comments work against him?

It’s easy to say in hindsight, but Scott Lindsey raised a significant point when revealing he used Askey's pre-match comments as part of his team talk.

Askey had alluded to the number of supporters Crawley would bring in comparison to Hartlepool welcoming their biggest gate of the season as a mark of the difference between the two clubs.

And while Askey did certainly not say things in a derogatory tone, it was enough to rally Crawley and fuelled them to be better than Hartlepool on the day and pretty much secure their League Two status at their expense.

Down and out

Hartlepool’s relegation has not yet been confirmed and yet the resignation on the field, in the stands and from Askey post-match tells you all you need to know.

Crawley need just one point to send Hartlepool down from their remaining two games at home to Walsall and away to Swindon Town. Failing that, should Hartlepool fail to win any of their remaining two games against Barrow and at Stockport County then they will be relegated.

On top of that, should those cards somehow fall for Hartlepool, they would still need to overturn a six goal deficit. Even by Hartlepool’s great escape standards, this one is a stretch too far.

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