How Milwall and Stoke City loanees have created an unlikely strike partnership at Hartlepool United

Dave Challinor has almost stumbled onto a makeshift strike force of loan signings with Will Goodwin and Tyler Burey.

Aged just 19 and 20 respectively, they are comfortably one of the Football League’s youngest strike partnerships at the moment, yet Pools are reaping the rewards.

Burey, playing away from his natural position as a winger, has netted two in his last two matches while Goodwin scored on his debut at Barrow and led the line well once again during Saturday’s 2-0 win over Walsall. Before arriving at Pools, neither player had scored a goal as a professional.

There is a positive sense of naivety and freedom to the way both players play, fearless up against their more experienced defensive counterparts.

“Youth, exuberant, willing, it can be infectious in terms of what they do and they’ve become a real nuisance and a real handful,” Challinor said when describing his new strike partnership.

“That’s a minimum that you expect from them and if they can do that with the quality that they have, then they’ll get chances and goals.

“The disappointment from Will’s perspective is that he probably didn’t get the goal he deserved [against Walsall].”

“He had a couple of chances in the second-half and you’re hoping he can stick it away and that rounds off a really terrific performance by the two of them in the second-half."

Burey and Goodwin’s rawness has provided a short-term solution to Pools’ striker issues but they’re still far from the finished article and should only improve as the season progresses. Both players are on an initial half-season loan until January.

“They are going to be judged as senior players as part of a League Two team,” Challinor added.

“As nasty as it might be, you have to forget how young they are and the fact they’ve not played many league games.“They’re part of our team for a reason and they have to go and carry themselves and do what’s required to stay in that team.

“But like I say they will learn from it and get better which is massively encouraging.”

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