The key takeaways from Hartlepool United's defeat at Swindon Town including injuries to ex-Salford City and Partick Thistle duo

Keith Curle’s side gave themselves the proverbial mountain to climb at the County Ground having found themselves 2-0 behind inside 17 minutes thanks to goals from Jonny Williams and Luke Jephcott. Williams ghosted in at the back post unchallenged to convert Ben Gladwin’s cross before Jephcott headed home Remeao Hutton’s centre to give the Robins a commanding lead.

And it was a lead they would hold onto, despite Clarke Oduor’s first goal for Hartlepool. Oduor was on hand to sweep home Mouhamed Niang’s cross to get Pools back into the game but they were unable to find an equaliser in the second half as they returned home from Wiltshire empty handed.

And here we look at some of the key takeaways from the County Ground following Pools' eighth defeat of the campaign.

Slow start

After a chastening experience in midweek against Everton under-21s the last thing Hartlepool needed was a slow start at the County Ground. But a slow start is what they got with Curle’s side 2-0 behind inside the opening 20 minutes.

At that point you did wonder how the afternoon would pan out having shipped six just days earlier, with Curle challenging his players to respond to any potential knockout blows. And, to their credit, there was a reaction.

Pools have conceded the most goals in the division this season with 27, but only six of those have come in the opening 25 minutes of games. It is a habit they will need to ensure does not become problematic moving forward in order to give themselves a foothold in games.

Stopping the cross

And Curle identified what the issue was for Hartlepool in their slow start with the problem being the inability of his side to stop the cross.

Each of Swindon’s goals came from balls into the box from Pools’ left side of the field with David Ferguson, first, allowing Gladwin too much time to cut back onto his left foot before picking out Williams, then being unable to prevent Hutton from crossing minutes later.

It was an area of the field which Swindon targeted for much of the game, with Hutton also causing issues for substitute Brody Paterson in the second half - twice coming within inches of finding Jephcott at the back post.

“We’ve got to stop crosses. It doesn't matter if it’s League Two, Premier League or international football, crosses into the box can affect you,” Curle said post-match.

“Playing against some teams you can’t stop the cross, but I think we can make a better effort and be more aggressive in those wide areas.

“They’ve got good wide players who can open you up and we’ve got to be able to deal with it. It's the opposite side of the pitch where they’re attacking where you are vulnerable and the two goals come from crosses into the box.”

The last three goals Pools have conceded in the league have all come directly from crosses into the box which will certainly give Curle something to address ahead of an important week at the Suit Direct Stadium.

Injuries mounting up

Having been forced into leaving certain players out at times in recent weeks, Curle now sees something of a catalogue of injuries building up at the Suit Direct Stadium with Mark Shelton and Niang forced off in the first half against Swindon.

“One of the pleasing things is the players didn’t go hiding. We had to make two substitutions, so you’re shuffling the pack, with Mark Shelton getting injured and Mo Niang getting injured again,” said Curle.

“But it was a good attitude and good discipline from the players coming in.”

Shelton went off clutching his calf while Niang was forced off with a hamstring problem with both players now likely to be a doubt for Pools ahead of the visit of Salford City.

Niang, in particular, will be a miss for Curle given his versatility. The midfielder was deployed as the third centre-back at the County Ground in a bid to help shore up the defence - a move which ultimately did not work - but it was going forward he played his most significant role when assisting Oduor.

Niang has recently returned from concussion protocol and now could be set for another spell on the sideline with Shelton while the likes of Joe Grey, Jack Hamilton and Jamie Sterry are all missing.

Reserved substitutions?

With Pools 2-1 behind heading into the final quarter of the game, Curle turned to his bench for a triple substitution. On came new signing Theo Robinson, winger Wes McDonald and midfielder Mohamad Sylla to replace Josh Umerah, Oduor and Nicky Featherstone.

The question at this point is whether or not Curle could have gambled a little bit more by keeping on one of Umerah or goalscorer Oduor in a bid to source an equaliser. As it happens, it was Sylla who had a golden opportunity to rescue a point when he was denied from 12-yards by Sol Brynn, but would an additional attacker, at that stage of the game, have been more beneficial?

Featherstone’s return

There is no surprise Featherstone made an immediate return for Hartlepool, the surprise came in its timing given the midfielder’s lack of match training.

Curle admitted ahead of the trip to Swindon his captain had just one ‘full blown’ session before handing him over 70 minutes at the County Ground.

Nevertheless, it is good for Hartlepool to have their captain back. He could be seen rallying his teammates when 2-0 behind to ensure their heads did not drop which, in turn, may have contributed towards them finding a potential route back into the game.

Featherstone’s impact in games will grow over the coming weeks as he picks up his match sharpness - and Pools will need him.