Hartlepool United 1-0 Tranmere Rovers RECAP: Graeme Lee's side seal third straight win with narrow victory at the Suit Direct Stadium
Peter Clarke’s own goal in first half stoppage time was all that separated the two sides on a close encounter at the Suit Direct Stadium.
Clarke glanced in David Ferguson’s in-swinging freekick from the right beyond his own goalkeeper Ross Doohan as Pools made it three wins in a row in the league for the first time since April last year.
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Hide AdThe visitors, who arrived second in the table, enjoyed plenty of possession in the second half as Graeme Lee’s side were happy to soak up the pressure and look for threats in behind on the counter-attack.
But for the second time in three outings as a back four, Pools held firm to see the game out 1-0.
Pools could have added a second themselves through substitute Joe White and Omar Bogle who each fired off target.
But Lee’s side also had Ben Killip to thank on his 100th appearance for the club as he made an excellent save to deny Kane Hemmings from close range.
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Hide AdSam Foley glanced wide in the closing stages from Josh Hawkes’ freekick but once again under Lee, Pools were able to hold firm helped by another man of the match display from Timi Odusina.
The clean sheet was their eighth under Lee as manager and they now move onto 40 points for the season and to within eight of the play-off places as Pools supporters can perhaps now start to look upwards in the table rather than over their shoulder.
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Hartlepool United 1-0 Tranmere Rovers RECAP: Pools seal third straight win in League Two
Key Events
- Peter Clarke’s own goal gives Hartlepool the lead
- Hartlepool United XI: Killip, Sterry, Byrne, Odusina, Ferguson, Featherstone ©, Morris, Crawford, Grey, Molyneux, Bogle
- Subs: Bilokapic, Ogle, Liddle, Shelton, White, Fletcher, Carver
- Tranmere Rovers XI: Doohan, Dacres-Cogley, Clarke ©, Davies, Macdonald, Hawkes, Warrington, Foley, Morris, Jolley, Hemmings
- Subs: Murphy, Knight-Percival, McPake, Merrie, Burton, McManaman, Dieseruvwe
𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬
Our Hartlepool United reporter Joe Ramage shares his views ahead of tonight’s clash:
“It’s another quick turnaround for Pools this evening but Graeme Lee will be delighted to be back on home soil after some fairly lengthy journeys in recent weeks.
“Pools arrive in good form of late, unbeaten in five League Two games with the last two of those being victories including last time out here against Barrow a week ago.
“Lee’s switch to a back four has certainly seemed to boost Pools’ momentum in the final third with new signing Omar Bogle showing just what they have been missing at times this season with a well-taken goal on Saturday against Crawley Town.
“Tonight represents about as tough a test as you can get for Pools however against a side looking for a return to League One.
“Micky Mellon’s side have won four of their last seven games and find themselves second in the table ahead of tonight’s meeting.
“Pools have not won three league games in a row since April last season but they do arrive with some momentum.
“Nicky Featherstone is available for selection once more as Lee has hinted at making some changes to his side in order to freshen things up during a heavy schedule.
“That could also mean a return to a back five should Lee choose to do so.
“Paul Glatzel will be missing for the visitors with an injury picked up against Swindon Town while Jay Spearing also remains sidelined.
“It’s been a good run for Pools of late but it will be interesting to see how the fare against a team who Lee described as ‘used to winning every week.’
“With another tough test against Sutton United on Saturday, we could learn a lot about what the rest of the season may have in store for Pools depending on results in the next four days.”
𝙇𝙚𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝
Graeme Lee is looking forward to being back on home soil this evening as Hartlepool United welcome Tranmere Rovers to the Suit Direct Stadium.
Pools are looking for a third straight win but Lee is under no illusions as to how challenging a fixture this could be.
“It’s another difficult game. I keep saying every team we come up against have got their own challenges but you’re up against a team who are consistently winning games and are up at the top end of the table,” Lee told The Mail.
“They’ve just signed a player from Burton, Kane Hemmings, who’s a tough, strong and powerful player who will cause us problems but let’s look at us and what we can offer.
“We’ve got Nicky Featherstone to come back into the team and we’ve got other bodies who are itching to try and get into the team.
“We’ve got a squad now who I feel are strong enough to be up the top end of the table.
“We’ve got Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday again next week, that could be the tell tale as to where we want to be and where we want to end up.”
Graeme Lee hoping to build on Crawley success with return to the Suit Direct Stadium
After racking up the miles in recent weeks Hartlepool United get set for back-to-back home games at the Suit Direct Stadium this week.
Hello and welcome back to the Suit Direct Stadium.
The games keep coming for Hartlepool United as they host Tranmere Rovers in a rearranged fixture this evening.
Pools were originally set to host the Merseysiders back in December before the match was postponed due to a number of COVID-19 cases within Micky Mellon’s squad.
The Super White Army are enjoying a strong season in League Two and are currently second heading into tonight’s clash.
Graeme Lee’s side will be hoping to continue their good form of recent weeks as they look for a third straight win following Saturday’s successful trip to Crawley Town.
And we’ve got you covered here at the Hartlepool Mail as we will guide you through every kick in our live blog, so be sure to stay tuned for team news and updates throughout the evening.