Hartlepool United avoid potential cup upset but did John Askey's side benefit from key decisions? The takeaways from Pools' FA Trophy success

Emmanuel Dieseruvwe inspired an emphatic second half fightback with two goals after John Askey’s side found themselves behind at the interval thanks to Josh Quarless’ opener.

Quarless struck inside three minutes from a free kick as the Northern Premier League West side threatened to pull off a monumental shock. But shortly after Dieseruvwe had headed Hartlepool level, Quarless was sent off for a challenge on Emmanuel Onariase as Pools made their man advantage count.

Nicky Featherstone headed Askey’s team in front before Dieseruvwe added his second of the game to seal the tie. And there was still time for Callum Cooke to get in on the act when he finished well to make it 4-1 before academy star Louis Stephenson scored his first goal for the club with another fine finish to make it 5-1.

City of Liverpool captain Danny Mitchley was then sent off in the final minute of second half stoppage time as Pools averted disaster with a comprehensive win on Merseyside.

And here, The Mail looks at some of the key talking points from Hartlepool's FA Trophy success:

Hartlepool negotiate ‘lose-lose’ situation

Let’s face it, Hartlepool had very little to gain here and everything to lose against a game City of Liverpool.

Askey’s side were expected to deal with opponents some three divisions lower than them whereas any kind of slip-up would have increased the pressure almost insurmountably on the Hartlepool boss were it to have happened.

But despite a shaky start, where alarm bells were certainly ringing, Pools were able to negotiate their way through the tie to come away with a solid result to progress into the fourth round of the competition.

“You come to places like this and you’re up against it,” said Askey. “You can’t win, even though we won 5-1.

“I don’t think anybody is going to remember it in a couple of weeks time. You don’t take a great deal from these games because you should win them.

“You can say it’s better than playing a practice match. To come away here and to not have gotten a result then it could have had a huge impact on us. But by getting a result it means we’ve got 90 minutes into people having had a week off and hopefully it gives one or two a little bit of confidence.”

The hallmarks of a cup upset

Even though they got through the tie, there was a period where you did begin to wonder.

Pools fell behind inside just three minutes – going against everything that was needed in a tie like this as it gave the underdogs something to hang onto and buoyed an already vocal home crowd.

City of Liverpool chairman Paul Manning described this as the ‘biggest game’ in the club’s history prior to kick-off and it was a wave of momentum they rode for as long as possible.

But it wasn’t just the opening goal which led you to wonder whether it was going to be one of those days for Hartlepool or not. The home side were tenacious in the way they went about the rest of the opening 45 minutes, they received some good fortune when Dieseruvwe had a goal ruled out and they had a goalkeeper in inspired form in Jack Atkinson as he made three excellent saves in particular to deny Cooke and Featherstone.

At half-time the conditions then became a factor as the wind and rain really ramped up with Askey’s side forced to kick up hill into those conditions after the break – Joel Dixon seeing several clearances blow back towards his own area to demonstrate just how much of a factor they were.

Any time the home side caught a glimpse of goal they tried their luck whilst corner kicks were directed towards the edge of the area only to blow back towards goal, again causing Dixon problems.

“It was tricky,” said Askey. “Conditions were horrendous. Anybody who has played in weather like this knows how hard it is and conceding so early made it tough.

“But you can’t really knock our attitude – even in the first half.

“It did [feel like there could be an upset] and that’s why it was important at half-time not to lose our heads too much and to try and keep calm and encourage the players, because if you start going off it too much then players can lose their confidence and belief in what they’re doing.

“So we just had to encourage them whilst reminding them there’s certain things we’ve got to do better and in the second half we controlled the game a little bit better and scored some good goals.”

Did Hartlepool benefit from key refereeing decisions?

City of Liverpool boss Paul McNally was proud of his players, despite their defeat, but admitted their task was made more difficult by referee Sam Mulhall’s decision to dismiss Quarless early in the second half. The Purples striker contested a loose ball with Onariase and sent the Hartlepool centre-back pirouetting before receiving his marching orders.

For McNally, the decision felt harsh, before he would also lose captain, Mitchley, later in the game. But for Askey, he felt the decision was likely warranted, having also highlighted a later incident involving David Ferguson which went unpunished.

“It was late and then there was one just after which was probably worse that the referee didn’t do anything about,” said Askey.

“I didn’t see what went on at the end when the other lad was sent off but obviously it made things a little bit easier for us when [Quarless] was sent off. But conditions like this don’t really mean you can always take advantage of 10 men. It doesn’t make that much difference because you struggle to play.”

Although Mulhall received heavy criticism from home supporters for the potential impact Quarless’ red card had, Hartlepool still carried out a professional display in the second half to avoid any upset.

Focus elsewhere for Hartlepool

As Askey hinted after watching his side book their spot in the fourth round of the competition, the focus and attention lies elsewhere for Pools – at least until we reach the latter stages and the prospect of a potential Wembley final could be realised.

That begins with their most difficult task of the season as they welcome Chesterfield to home soil when they return to National League action at the weekend.

If this victory over City of Liverpool has done one thing it has allowed the despair of November’s bleak 4-1 defeat at home to Bromley to dissipate somewhat. But that wound will only reopen should they produce another lacklustre home performance against the league leaders.

“It’s just a game before we play Chesterfield,” said Askey.

“Further on, if we can progress, it gives us all something to look forward to. A trip to Wembley would always be nice but we’ve got more important things.”

In that regard, it was job done for Hartlepool with a line drawn under this result very quickly.