Hartlepool United end dismal 2023 with 2-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic

After surrendering a lead to lose their Boxing Day battle 3-1, in which defensive lapses had proved costly, lessons had not been learned as Pools were caught napping again in the reverse fixture at Boundary Park, with Josh Stones and Pools old boy Mike Fondop doing the damage at the beginning and end of the game.

There were less than three minutes on the clock when former Hartlepool defender Mark Kitching's long ball over the top went unchallenged and bounced invitingly for Josh Stones.

The 20-year-old striker, on loan from Wigan, had been a menace in the first festive fixture - scoring one and creating two for strike partner James Norwood - and picked up where he had left off by burying a sweetly struck shot across Joel Dixon.

Oldham had not made a substitution in the first meeting but lost a bit of momentum when Stones took a knock midway through the first half.

The goalscorer tried to continue but it soon became clear that he would not finish the game.

Stones did not even finish the half as he was replaced by Fondop in the 39th minute.

It took a while for Oldham to adjust to the enforced change, and it would have been the perfect opportunity for John Askey's men to take advantage, but while they executed a successful pressing game for periods to force the home side back towards their own goal, they could not do enough to challenge it and went into the break a goal down.

Oldham might have added to it early in the second half but Kitching was denied by the woodwork direct from a corner before Norwood somehow had a shot and follow-up kept out.

The introduction of fit-again Anthony Mancini on the hour lifted Askey's men and for the first time in the fixture Pools looked a threat.

However, Mancini found Mat Hudson in fine form, with the goalkeeper sticking out a vital leg to block a well-struck volley before scooping up a low long-range drive.

Pools fans travelled in great numbers, with 737 going through the Boundary Park turnstiles, but it was not until Mancini's introduction that they were offered hope of getting anything out of the game.

After Josh Umerah had limped off as Askey's injury situation worsened, Fondop killed off the game with five minutes to go - finishing from close range after Pools failed to deal with a Kitching corner.

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