Story of the day: Aldershot Town 1-3 Hartlepool United – Pools back up to third following strong away display
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After a goalless first half, goals from Luke Armstrong, Rhys Oates and a Nicky Featherstone penalty helped secure a fairly comfortable away win for Pools.
Mo Bettamer caused a late scare from the penalty spot but Pools were able to bounce back and secure victory to guarantee a play-off place.
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FULL-TIME: Aldershot Town 1 (Bettamer pen 86) Hartlepool United 3 (Armstrong 59, Oates 77, Featherstone pen 90)
Key Events
- Pools XI: James; Ferguson, Johnson, Liddle, Cass, Sterry; Featherstone, Shelton, Holohan; Oates, Armstrong
- Pools subs: Donaldson, Molyneux, Williams, Francis-Angol, Elliott
- Pools bookings: Holohan (90)
- Aldershot XI: Walker; Fowler, Sendles-White, Lyons-Foster, Kandi, Panayiotou, Anderson, Edser, Kinsella, Tanner, Miller
- Aldershot subs: Battamer, Whittingham, Wylie, Ogie, Hinds
- Aldershot bookings: Kandi (56), Kinsella (57), Tanner (76), Sendles-White (90)
- Referee: Elliott Swallow
Early team news - Luke Armstrong set to return
Dave Challinor provided an update on Luke Armstrong’s fitness.
“He’s fine, he trained yesterday fine and will train again [on Wednesday],” said the Pools boss.
“In the circumstance we were in after losing Bromley, it would have been a stupid risk to play him [against Maidenhead].
“Us keeping him and Oatesy [Rhys Oates] fit for the next five six games is going to be pivotal. Hopefully he has no reaction and he’ll be fine for the weekend and moving forward.”
Elsewhere in the squad, Challinor revealed that Harvey Saunders was still struggling with a knee issue picked up in the 1-0 defeat at Bromley last week.
The Fleetwood Town loanee played against Maidenhead but will continue to be monitored ahead of this weekend’s game.
“There are people with knocks and niggles where we have to be flexible with training scheduled but there’s nothing out of the ordinary,” Challinor added.
“Harvey has a slight knee issue from the Bromley game, he got through the game on Saturday so fingers crossed he’ll be fine but he’s the only one with anything at the moment. Everyone else, it’s just about managing their load.”
Aldershot defender Kodi Lyons-Foster previews today’s match
Kodi Lyons-Foster“I think the manner we lost it up there was disappointing, obviously with the penalty and the way we conceded late on in the game, but we’ll be looking to rectify that tomorrow and give them a much better game.”
Challinor aiming for third
The Pools boss has his targets set on a third placed finish for Hartlepool United and a home play-off semi-final.
“We’re at a point now where because of our last two results, we need help from somewhere in order to finish third,” Challinor said.
“In reality, the way it sits now, we’re hoping that after taking care of our stuff, Torquay beat Stockport this weekend which gives us a chance of getting third.
“Sutton are 78, Torquay 77, the maximum we can get is 79 which is never going to be enough to finish top two. We’ve got to win our games and hope Torquay do us a favour so we can finish third.”
National League confirm play-off 2020-21 schedule
Saturday 5th June 2021 - 4pm Elimination Round - Match A - 5th place vs 6th place
Sunday 6th June 2021 - 4pm Elimination Round - Match B - 4th place vs 7th Place
Saturday 12th June 2021 - 12pm Semi Final - 2nd place vs winner of Match A
Sunday 13th June 2021 - 12pm Semi Final- 3rd place vs winner of Match B
Sunday 20th June 2021 - 2pm Promotion Final – Ashton Gate
