Hartlepool United manager Craig Hignett praises 'magnificent' midfielder following 'flat' Chesterfield draw

Their performance was flat and disjointed but Craig Hignett couldn’t praise his Hartlepool United players enough following their 1-1 draw with Chesterfield.
Hartlepool United manager Craig Hignett  during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Dover Athletic at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 21st September 2019. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Hartlepool United manager Craig Hignett  during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Dover Athletic at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 21st September 2019. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Hartlepool United manager Craig Hignett during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Dover Athletic at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 21st September 2019. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)

It was all about solidarity for Pools when they welcomed the Spireites to Victoria Park looking to recover from Saturday’s distressing events during the Dover defeat.

First half goals from Peter Kioso and Tom Denton saw the sides share the spoils from a game severely lacking in quality.

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But given the context of the match, Hignett was willing to take the sub-par display on the chin.

Gus Mafuta of Hartlepool United. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Gus Mafuta of Hartlepool United. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Gus Mafuta of Hartlepool United. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)

“All the players have been top notch,” he said.

“It was obviously heated after the Dover game and there was a lot of disappointed and upset people after the game and that’s normal.

“They stood up and were counted and were real men about it but I know they are anyway because I know what type of characters they are. They’ve been different class how they’ve handled themselves and that’s credit to them.

“We didn’t have enough quality in the final third and whilst we had some good bits of play we didn’t get what we should have got from the situations we were in, we were a little bit loose and went long at times.

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“The important thing was that we didn’t concede again from a lot of balls going into the box, we defended them really well. Overall, I’ll take it on the chin because we know we can play a lot better.”

When discussing the evening’s individual displays, Hignett added: “I thought Gus [Mafuta] was magnificent, the front lads tried hard but struggled at times but I thought Gus was really good.

“The midfield three worked hard and Gav Holohan had a good first half but tired a little bit in the second but you expect that playing in an unfamiliar position as well.

“Kenton Richardson played as a left sided centre-half but he’s a right back and a right footed player and he showed great maturity.

“There was a lot of decent individual performances but we just didn’t click as a team and had no tempo or pace about us. We were flat but that word would some up the night all around.”