Hartlepool United 2-1 Aldershot Town analysed and assessed – Dominic Scurr's verdict of Pools' first ever National League opening day win

The familiar matchday buzz from the stands was absent – replaced by a sterile, almost business-like atmosphere for Hartlepool United's 2020-21 National League season opener against Aldershot Town.

The sense of excitement, hope and anticipation that accompanies the first match of the season was still there but couldn’t be heard or felt in the same way as before.

Turnstiles had been swapped for online login pages as the three and a half thousand fans who would usually line the terraces at The Vic watched on from home as Pools kicked off their fourth season in the fifth tier of English football.

This is the new normal, and it’s unfortunately here to stay.

On the pitch, it was back to business for Dave Challinor's side for their first competitive game in seven months.

A lot has changed at the club since March, yet Pools' starting line-up had a familiar feel to it.

New signings David Ferguson, Lewis Cass, David Parkhouse and Claudio Ofosu were the only starters on Saturday afternoon who weren’t in the line-up in Pools’ previous National League game at Victoria Park 210 days prior.

The loan signing of goalkeeper Henrich Ravas from Derby County had cast doubt over Ben Killip's place in the squad but the England C international was chosen to start the campaign in between the sticks in what will now be his position to lose.

Luke Molyneux was the most notable absentee from the matchday squad. The former Sunderland winger has been self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus over a week ago.

After going through their six pre-season games unbeaten, Pools were hoping to transfer that confidence into a competitive setting.

And a Nicky Featherstone penalty and late winner from Gavan Holohan – either side of Craig Tanner’s strike for the visitors – helped Hartlepool to their first-ever opening day victory in the National League.

Inside the opening minutes, Holohan looked to set the tone early on as Shots goalkeeper Mitch Walker was caught off his line. But the Irishman could find neither the net nor a teammate as the early chance went begging.

From there, Pools quickly settled into the game and took control of proceedings as Challinor watched on from the stands.

Despite being a bit rough around the edges as you’d expect during the opening weeks of the new season, Pools demonstrated some real moments of class in the opening 45-minutes.

The midfield three of Featherstone, Holohan and Mark Shelton had Aldershot chasing shadows at times with some swift triangular passing moves.

The high-energy, high-pressing philosophy that had become synonymous with Challinor’s side last season had not been lost over the last seven months.

But as with last season, Pools were pleasing on the eye but just lacked that bit of cutting edge.

Parkhouse, Holohan and Ryan Donaldson all saw chances go begging before the deadlock was broken.

Even then, the goal was something of a gift as Holohan pounced on a failed clearance from Ferguson’s cross and was brought down inside the penalty area.

The referee pointed straight to the spot at Featherstone, the club’s newly designated penalty taker, sent Walker the wrong way to coolly slot home.

Hartlepool’s dominant first-half display could have had the game wrapped up by the break, but the scoreline remained 1-0.

The first half was easy for Pools against a poor Aldershot side, perhaps a bit too easy. The complacency started to kick in as play resumed for the second half and the hosts seemed to take their foot off the gas somewhat.

The Shots came out of the blocks the better, more hungry side after the break and started to cause problems knowing it would only take a goal for them to draw level.

The damp conditions and slippery surface at Victoria Park had been threatening to cause problems all afternoon and on the 63rd minute, it finally proved costly for Pools.

Gary Liddle, on his 300th appearance for the club, lost his footing near the halfway line to gift Aldershot possession. One pass later and Tanner was through on goal to lift the ball over Killip to make it 1-1.

Just like that, Pools' first-half dominance had been undone.

Challinor has admitted on numerous occasions that his team’s high-pressure style of play risks leaving them vulnerable to mistakes at the back – this was just another case of that as Pools now had just over 25-minutes to make amends.

The introduction of Rhys Oates and Mason Bloomfield in place of the fairly ineffective attacking pair of Parkhouse and Ofosu provided a spark in the final third for Pools as they pushed for a winner.

And with just four minutes of normal time remaining, Holohan, who had been at the heart of everything positive for Pools over the course of the afternoon, was in the right place at the right time to nod Donaldson’s clipped cross in on the line.

Oates almost added some gloss to the scoreline with a stunning 60-yard run but couldn’t find the finish late on as the match ended 2-1.

Pools made it a lot harder than they needed to against at home to a team who finished 18th in the league last season. But with no fans in attendance, they weren't there to put on a show, they were there to get the job done.

The 2-1 win would have had Victoria Park bouncing in normal circumstances. Yet the full-time whistle, met by muted cheers, applause and detached of any external emotion, provided a uniquely raw view of the result for what it was – three points, one game down, 43 to go. Nothing more.

While this new normal will take some getting used to, victory for Pools still feels as good as ever.

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