Hartlepool United lose at home to Salford City thanks to Corrie Ndaba and Jason Lowe strikes

Hartlepool United are beaten by Salford City at the Suit Direct Stadium. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)

If Graeme Lee is to hope Hartlepool United’s season does not fizzle out for the remaining six games of the season then he will need more from his players than here.

Pools were flat throughout as they fell to just their fourth defeat at the Suit Direct Stadium in the league this season against Salford City thanks to goals from Corrie Ndaba and Jason Lowe.

It was also the ninth time in their last 10 league games in which Pools have conceded the opening goal, a worrying stat for Lee, with the other game ending in a goalless draw against an out-of-form Leyton Orient.

Of those nine occasions, Pools have managed to come back and claim points in five of those games but not here, as they were comfortably beaten in truth by League Two’s form team with the Ammies very much still involved in the promotion picture.

Following the injury to Luke Molyneux in the midweek draw with Mansfield Town much of the talk was who would replace the 24-year-old against Salford with Lee opting to hand Newcastle United loanee Joe White his first start since returning from an ankle injury.

White, one of two changes, started on the right of a front three alongside Omar Bogle and Joe Grey with Mark Shelton the other change coming in for Bryn Morris in midfield to face his former club as Morris missed out on the squad altogether.

And Pools started quite brightly, enjoying plenty of possession in the opening stages without threatening Tom King’s goal before the visitors began to find their feet.

Matt Smith was off target looping a header over the bar before Brandon Thomas-Asante almost capitalised on a mix-up between Neill Byrne and Timi Odusina as he skewed an effort just wide of the post.

Gary Bowyer’s side took the lead soon after when Ash Hunter was able to beat Jamie Sterry to a ball wide on the left and cut inside to find the underlapping Ndaba who fired a powerful strike beyond Killip from the edge of the area.

And the visitors doubled their lead within 10 minutes with a wonderful effort from Lowe.

Hunter sent a crossfield ball out to Lowe who was in space on the right and from all of 25-yards he unleashed a spectacular strike which arrowed into the top corner.

Pools huffed and puffed to find a response in the remainder of the first half as David Ferguson’s in-swinging effort from a short corner routine just evaded the far post.

And it was a theme which continued in the second half as Lee’s side struggled to carve out any real clear cut opportunities in front of goal.

Instead it was Salford who might have added a third when Ryan Watson saw his first-time strike come back off the foot of Killip’s post early after the restart.

Pools might have gained a lifeline when Isaac Fletcher saw appeals for a handball waved away after Sterry fried over from the angle of the area.

Substitute Tom Crawford fired over in the closing stages as the Ammies eased to three points at the Suit direct Stadium to leave Lee with much to ponder for the final six games of the season.

Hartlepool United XI: Killip, Sterry, Byrne, Odusina, Ferguson, Featherstone ©, Shelton (Crawford ‘64), Fletcher, Grey (Carver ‘56), White, Molyneux

Subs: Bilokapic, Ogle, Hull, Liddle, Smith

Salford City XI: King, Love, Lowe ©, Ndaba, Watson, Hunter (Lund ‘81), Turnbull (Touray ‘56), Kelly, Smith, Thomas-Asante (Henderson ‘86), Vassell

Subs: Torrance, Shephard, Bolton, Burgess

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