Taking FC Hartlepool back to basics pays off for boss Hill

Action from FC Hartlepool's win over Horden CW.

Hill’s men went into Saturday’s home clash with the Wearside League title challengers looking to end a run of nine games without a win.

The hard work was done in the first half as a Luke Naylor penalty and a fine strike from Patrick Mulvey laid the foundations for a 2-0 win for the hosts at Grayfields.

The three points moved Hartlepool to within a win of moving into the top ten of the table – although many of the sides around them hold a significant number of games in hand over Hill’s side.

The Hartlepool boss praised his players for their work-rate and commitment as they secured their third league win of the season just days after falling to a 9-0 defeat at Boldon CA.

He said: “We needed a big reaction after the result in midweek and we set up the lads to compete and get back to basics. Every single player put in a great shift and played like we knew they could.

“We were composed on the ball, and really put Horden under pressure. I think they will agree that we deserved to win the game.

“Personally, it was a relief to break the losing streak because I think it was becoming a bit of a burden and was starting to get to the lads.

“We won’t be getting too excited over a win, just in the same way that we tried not to get too concerned about the poor results.

“But that’s a start and we will look to keep learning.”

Billingham Town endured a miserable trip to Northern League Division One rivals Whitley Bay as they suffered a heavy defeat on North Tyneside. Bay frontman Adam Shanks led the way with a hat-trick and Mark Robinson also found the net as they claimed a comfortable win at Hillheads.

Billingham Synthonia suffered no such issues as they romped to a 7-1 win over Division Two strugglers Durham City.

Newly signed Bermudan striker D’Andre Wainwright marked his Synners debut with a hat-trick against his former club and Ben Bielby scored twice. Ben Jackson and Stephen Morrison were also on target as Synners moved to within three points of the promotion places.