Hartlepool United 0-2 Salford City: Pools suffer ninth defeat of the season as Keith Curle's side remain bottom

If Pools are to ensure their season of prolonged misery does not end in the ultimate despair of relegation then these are the kind of games they will need to start turning into positive results. Although Salford arrived at the Suit Direct Stadium eighth in the table, harbouring play-off hopes of their own, there was little between the two sides with Ryan Leak’s goal midway through the first half enough to separate the two sides before an excellent Ethan Galbraith strike deep into stoppage time sealed things on a hugely frustrating night.

Pools came within the width of the post of finding a way through in the game, but when your luck is out, your luck is out as they remain bottom.

Keith Curle made three changes to the side who were beaten 2-1 at Swindon Town, two of those likely enforced with midfield pair Mark Shelton and Mouhamed Niang forced off in the first half at the County Ground. Tom Crawford was the third player to miss out, the 23-year-old not even named on the bench for Curle’s squad with Reghan Tumilty, Mohamad Sylla and Theo Robinson replacing the trio.

But injuries have continued to plague Curle’s squad of late. And with Rollin Menayese and Jamie Sterry both sidelined, Curle had to look into Hartlepool’s academy and 17-year-old Louis Stephenson to complete the bench.

Stephenson had been training with Pools in the build-up to the game with Salford and was rewarded with a place on the bench against the Ammies.

"We are absolutely delighted for Louis to be given this opportunity to be part of the first team squad this evening and congratulate Louis on this important milestone in his development,” academy manager Andy Lowe confessed ahead of Stephenson’s involvement.

And Stephenson will have been relatively pleased with what he saw from his teammates in the opening exchanges as Pools were the ones who probed in the opening 20 minutes.

Callum Cooke threaded a clever ball into the half-space for Josh Umerah who allowed the ball to run, narrowing the angle in the process, before dragging wide of Tom King’s goal. Clarke Oduor, continuing in the starting line-up after grabbing his first goal for the club in the defeat at Swindon, did well to recycle Umerah’s effort and beat Galbraith before his low cross was dealt with well by Leak.

And Oduor became a clear target for Pools early in the game with Cooke spraying a number of fine cross-field balls into his path as the Barnsley loanee appeared to have the better of both Galbraith and Ash Eastham. Oduor’s work earned Pools an early corner which Nicky Featherstone swung in for Alex Lacey but the defender could not keep his header on target.

And Pools were within the width of a post of taking the lead in the 16th minute when David Ferguson’s deep free kick landed kindly for Mohmad Sylla in what was almost a carbon copy of his opportunity late in the day at Swindon three days earlier, but this time the Frenchman was denied by the post.

But that near miss would come back to haunt Pools in a cruel way 10 minutes later. As supporters all around the Suit Direct Stadium paid tribute to late Hartlepool midfielder Michael Maidens, 15 years on from his tragic passing, Salford took the lead.

A dangerous in-swinging corner from the left was met inside the six-yard box by Leak who could hardly miss when powering into the net.

It was a sucker-punch for Pools who had started pretty well in the game and it knocked a little bit of the stuffing out of things. And that might have resulted in a second for Salford when Galbraith raced clear from Ferguson’s free kick on the counter attack before freeing Matty Lund from 18-yards but his strike lacked conviction as Killip gathered.

Another teasing Featherstone corner saw Robinson glance just wide before Umerah came close to an equaliser on the stroke of half-time. Oduor’s high press forced Galbraith into a mistake and his first time cross was met by Umerah who fired towards the near post from a tight angle with the ball even clipping the outside of King’s post.

The game continued in a similar manner after the restart with Pools doing more of the probing but just lacking that clinical edge in the final third before Killip was twice called into action around the hour.

First the Pools stopper had to deal with Elliott Watt’s in-swinging corner which almost found the corner of the net itself but for a vital intervention from Killip before he then superbly denied Lund.

Ferguson let a ball bounce which allowed Luke Bolton the incentive to break clear on the right. He picked out Lund on the edge of the area and his first-time effort looked destined for the far corner before Killip clawed it away.

Curle introduced Wes McDonald on the hour to help give Pools a spark and he was immediately involved when dragging wide following yet more good work from Oduor.

McDonald then looked to have picked out Tumilty with a cross to the back post where the Scotsman appealed to the referee for a foul - but to no avail.

With Pools pressing for an equaliser they became vulnerable at the other end and they were almost caught out when Watt excellently crafted a ball into Lund, who beat Lacey too easily, and he had time and space to pick his spot inside the area only for Killip to save down low.

But try as they might, Pools just could not find that stroke of fortune before Galbraith’s excellent strike sealed the win.

Hartlepool United XI: Killip, Tumilty (Ndjoli ‘79), Murray, Lacey, Ferguson, Oduor, Sylla, Featherstone © (Hastie ‘87), Cooke, Umerah, Robinson (McDonald ‘61)

Subs: Letheren, Stephenson, Paterson, Taylor

Salford City XI: King, Eastham ©, Leak, Galbraith, Touray, Watson, Lund (Bailey ‘79), Vassell, Watt, Bolton, Simoes (Hendry ‘71)

Subs: Chapman, Smith, Tolaj, Jenkins, Dackers

Referee: Darren Handley