How Hartlepool United scored the perfect goal against Bradford City: Nine passes, seven players and 23 seconds

Those are the numbers involved when analysing Hartlepool United’s potential goal of the season candidate as they sliced through Bradford City at Valley Parade to open the scoring with Callum Cooke.

Cooke earned the plaudits with his emphatic finish as he hammered in from the edge of the area on an afternoon of spectacular goals, with Dan Kemp’s solo effort and Andy Cook's sublime volley.

But although Kemp and Cook both showed supreme individual brilliance for their goals, they were just that - individual brilliance, whereas Cooke’s goal was a combined team effort from Hartlepool.

For a team who are engulfed in a relegation scrap in League Two, Cooke’s opener was befitting of a side much higher up the league table than where Hartlepool find themselves and is, perhaps, a representation of what John Askey has brought to the Suit Direct Stadium.

Having gone from zero shots on target in Keith Curle’s final game in charge against Newport County, Pools now appear to be fashioning opportunities more regularly as they play with a little bit more freedom and expression as instructed by Askey.

While it was Cooke who got the glory here against his old side, much has to be said of the role played by Connor Jennings.

Of those 19 touches, Jennings had seven of them - four of them passes, all of which contributed key elements to the move.

When Jakub Stolarczyk rolled the ball out to David Ferguson on the edge of his own penalty area there seemed little on.

Ferguson continued to scour for a forward pass as he delayed just enough to draw in two Bradford players before playing a smart ball into the feet of Jennings on halfway.

Under pressure from Matt Platt, Jennings just about managed to keep the ball under control but in doing so was unable to complete a forward pass and, as such, was forced back to Edon Pruti.

Pruti was quick to move the ball back out to Ferguson on the touchline as Jennings arched his run to show for another pass from the wing-back in a similar position on halfway - Ferguson’s ball again beating four in the Bradford press.

This time, however, Jennings had enough space and wherewithal to slip a clever first-time ball through two opposition players into the path of the unmarked Kemp as Hartlepool had now completely beaten Bradford’s forward press.

Jennings continued, flanked by Cooke, and received the ball back from Kemp inside the Bradford half, who were now retreating with Hartlepool creating an overload in attack.

Jennings moved the ball onto Jamie Sterry who was free on the right and he had time to advance with Pools creating a five-on-five situation in the Bradford penalty area.

Both Jennings and Cooke timed their runs well in order to be free of their markers who had, by this stage, dropped further towards their own goal line.

Sterry slid a pass into Jennings who, with his final touch of the move, displayed great intuition in teeing up Cooke first-time, as opposed to going for goal himself, with Cooke thumping home.

It was fast, it was slick and it was ruthless from Askey’s side.

It was a goal to be proud of.

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