Hartlepool United fans deserve better than this says boss Ronnie Moore

That was the honest verdict of boss Ronnie Moore following a poor display in a 2-0 defeat at Wimbledon.

The size of the defeat could have been even heavier, with the Wombles two up inside the first half hour at Kingsmeadow.

“The fans keep on coming, keep singing, keep supporting us, they are waiting for something to happen,” said Moore.

“There was a smashing bunch of fans at the game, I can only apologise for the performance.

“I feel for them, they are desperate for us to do well.

“I pick the side and put them out there, but they’ve got to respond and give something back.”

Moore, not for the first time this season, admitted Pools are desperately shy of leaders, players who are happy to make their mouths go.

“I’m trying to wonder what turns them on?” he said.

“Where’s the guy with the baton? Who will set us on fire and get us moving?

“We need leaders, there’s not enough being said.”

Moore was left frustrated, again, by some bad defending against an in-form side, who clearly know where the goal is.

Callum Kennedy put the Wombles head in the 18th minute with an almost carbon-copy goal of the one Scott Fenwick scored at Yeovil from Jake Carroll’s free-kick.

Kennedy whipped it in left-footed from wide on the right, but no defender got near it and it bounced in the box and into Trevor Carson’s top-right corner.

Worse was top follow 10 minutes later.

Magnus Okuonghae made a weak attempt at a header and neither Matthew Bates or Dan Jones took charge of the ball in the Pools box.

Lyle Taylor did and his volley flew in off Carson’s right-hand post.

“We said ‘don’t give away a silly unnecessary free-kicks’ and not only do we do that, we go so deep from it,” said Moore.

“The lad actually scores from 40 yards from our goal because Trevor Carson told them[the defenders] to stay up and they’ve dropped. He can’t come for it and the bounce kills us.

“The second goal? It’s basic defending, don’t let the ball bounce in your box.

“It’s frustrating because it’s the same things week-in, week-out, the penny doesn’t seem to be dropping.

“It was frustrating because for the first 15 minutes, there’s nothing in the game, then once the goal goes in we look like we are going to go down.

“We are defending too deep, we never passed it, never looked like we are going to score and the hold up play wasn’t good enough.

“There’s no energy at the moment, we were running on empty in a lot of areas.’’