Ten-man Hartlepool United fall to cruel late defeat against Eastleigh
A 96th minute goal condemned ten-man Hartlepool United to a late defeat against National League rivals Eastleigh.
Ten-man Hartlepool United fell to an agonising defeat as Eastleigh snatched a last-gasp win on a controversial night at Victoria Park.
Pools appeared to have taken heed of Clark’s calls for a reaction to last weekend’s defeat at Sutton as they made a fast-paced start to the contest and could have taken the lead inside the opening two minutes as Corey McKeown’s cross narrowly evaded Will Harris.
Brooklyn Ilunga’s willingness to break down the left-hand side was a constant feature of a promising opening 15 minutes from Clark’s men and he was next to try his luck as he sent an effort over the bar from around 20 yards. However, it was forward duo Chris Popov and Will Harris that had Pools’ best chances of the opening 45 minutes and both came before the midway point of the half. An error of judgement in the visitors backline gave Popov a sight of goal but he was sent off-balance as he skewed wide before Harris’ powerful low drive was saved by the legs of Spitfires goalkeeper Nick Townsend.
After taking their time to settle and see off some pressure from Pools, Eastleigh started the settle into the contest and they could and should have taken the lead ten minutes before half-time when Aaron Blair raced clear, rounded Max Merrick but failed to beat Ilunga on the line. That was enough to ensure the stalemate remained in place at the break - but the complexion of the game has changed within minutes of the restart.
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Questionable
After receiving a yellow card in the closing stages of the first-half, Pools wing-back Neo Eccleston was cautioned for a second time as he slipped before going into a challenge with Spitfires midfielder Josh Lundstrom. That set the tone for the rest of the half with niggling challenge and debatable and at sometimes questionable decisions drawing the ire of the Pools faithful and disrupting any attempts to create momentum.
Chances for either side were at a premium - and as both head coaches looked to their bench, it was one of Pools replacements that came closest to finally breaking the deadlock with five minutes remaining. Jack Nolan found a rare moment of time and space on the right-hand side before cutting in and unleashing an effort at goal that deflected off a visitors defender before looping narrowly beyond the far post.
There was to be late heartbreak for Pools as their valiant effort failed to produce a reward as visitors substitute Leon Khumbeni fired home the winning goal in the fifth minute of added-on time to give his side all three points.
Hartlepool United: Merrick, Benn, Hunter, Kouogun, McNally, Ilunga (Sheron 57), Miley, Harris (Hugill 76), Eccleston, Popov (Nolan 76), McKeown (John 46) Subs not used: Fisher (gk), Gibson, Bondo
Eastleigh: Townsend, Sidwell, Eweka, Dickov (Randall 72), Lundstram (Rankine 86), Blair, Hawkins (Duke 81), Akoto (Khumbeni 86), Dobson-Ventura (Pierre 86), Cousins, Johnson Subs not used: Jeffries (gk)
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