Hartlepool United manager explains attacker's unexpected absence from dominant win over rivals Carlisle United
Hartlepool United manager Nicky Featherstone revealed that Accrington Stanley loanee Charlie Caton had been set to start last week's emphatic win over rivals Carlisle United, only to be taken ill with food poisoning hours before the game.
The 23-year-old, who signed on loan for Pools last month on a deal until the end of the season, had been in line for his first start for Featherstone's side ahead of the visit of big-spending Carlisle. Yet the forward was struck down with illness as kick-off drew near and ended up missing the match altogether.
In the end, Pools managed to cope without Caton as they moved to within striking distance of the National League play-off places thanks to a comprehensive win over one of their bitterest rivals, with Tyrese Sinclair, Alex Reid and debutant Calvin Okike, who scored less than a minute after his introduction with his first ever touch in professional football, all on target for the hosts.
Nonetheless, Featherstone will be hoping to have Caton back in contention ahead of successive home matches this week, with Pools entertaining strugglers Sutton United on Tuesday night before welcoming Halifax Town, one of their direct rivals for a place in the top seven, at the weekend. If Pools can build on back-to-back victories over Solihull Moors and Carlisle, then their play-off dreams could soon start to feel more like a reality.
Caton is one of five new signings to have arrived in the North East since American businessman and investor Landon Smith completed his takeover of the club on New Year's Eve. Interestingly, the young forward is also one of the first to have been spotted by the club's new data-led approach to recruitment, which identifies potential recruits based on a series of performance-related metrics and is modelled on systems used by the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion, widely regarded as one of England's best-run clubs, and Scottish Premiership leaders Heart of Midlothian.
The frontman made his name at National League North side Chester City, scoring 26 goals in 79 games, before securing a move to the Football League with Accrington Stanley. Since arriving at the Wham Stadium, however, Caton has struggled to make quite the same impact and was allowed to leave on loan this month having found the net four times in 40 appearances in Lancashire.
Even so, Caton could hardly have made a better start to life at Pools, scoring on his debut against title-chasing York just 18 minutes after being introduced from the bench. Yet the attacker hasn't quite been able to kick-on since then, making just one further substitute appearance.
Pools haven't made much luck with injuries and illness since Featherstone replaced Simon Grayson in October, with Luke Charman missing out in similar circumstances after falling unwell the night before a game while several other players have also been struck down by sickness in recent weeks. Speaking to The Red Radio in the wake of Wednesday night's dominant win over Carlisle, Featherstone revealed that food poisoning caused Caton to miss out on what would have been his first Pools start.
"Charlie was meant to start tonight," he said.
"I got a phone call off him at about half past four - food poisoning. I've never known a place as mad as this over the last two or three months; we've had illnesses on the day, we've had all sorts. It's unfortunate for Charlie because he was set to play tonight."