The key takeaways from Hartlepool United's goalless draw with AFC Wimbledon

It was important that Hartlepool United showed signs of improvement against AFC Wimbledon.
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Paul Hartley and his side had an opening weekend to forget at Walsall, with Pools second best throughout in their 4-0 humbling at the Bescot Stadium.

It left the feeling ahead of the meeting with Wimbledon a little bit indecisive, with many unsure what to expect.

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Yet Pools came out fighting and were a little unfortunate not to come away with all three points on their return to the Suit Direct Stadium.

Rollin Menayese made his official Hartlepool United debut against AFC Wimbledon. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Rollin Menayese made his official Hartlepool United debut against AFC Wimbledon. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Rollin Menayese made his official Hartlepool United debut against AFC Wimbledon. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)

But what did we learn from their display against the Dons?

Flexible in systems

The first thing which immediately jumped out was Hartley’s team selection.

The Pools boss had suggested he would not be subject to a knee-jerk reaction following the defeat at Walsall when telling The Mail: “It’s easy to do that. But I still believe we’ve got a good group of players here.”

Callum Cooke operated as one of two No.10's for Hartlepool United against AFC Wimbledon. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Callum Cooke operated as one of two No.10's for Hartlepool United against AFC Wimbledon. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Callum Cooke operated as one of two No.10's for Hartlepool United against AFC Wimbledon. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)

And Hartley kept his words, in essence, by resorting to just two changes from the opening day defeat with full-back Jamie Sterry and on loan Saddlers defender Rollin Menayese coming in for Reghan Tumilty and Ellis Taylor.

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But the big change, however, came in the formation with Hartley ditching the 4-2-3-1 approach for a 3-4-2-1 system.

Menayese joined Euan Murray and Alex Lacey at centre-back with Sterry and David Ferguson advancing into a midfield role alongside Nicky Featherstone and Mouhamed Niang.

Callum Cooke and Jake Hastie operated in narrower No.10 roles whilst still looking to attack the half spaces beyond lone striker Josh Umerah.

Hartlepool United claimed their first point of the new season against AFC Wimbledon. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Hartlepool United claimed their first point of the new season against AFC Wimbledon. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Hartlepool United claimed their first point of the new season against AFC Wimbledon. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)

And while much of that decision may have been attributed to the threat posed by Wimbledon, particularly wing-back Jack Currie who got himself on the scoresheet against Gillingham in their season opener a week ago, it represents a significant change from what we have seen from Pools’ starting line-ups in pre-season.

But, credit where it is due, the system suited Pools.

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The three centre-backs looked comfortable alongside one another and in bringing the ball out from the back.

Sterry and Ferguson, as has become the norm, operated fluidly up and down the flanks depending on Pools’ possession while Cooke, in particular, enjoyed a positive afternoon in a more advanced role as part of a two.

Hartley has admitted he likes to utilise a back three, but has struggled to do so in pre-season owing to a lack of numbers or injuries.

But despite relatively little evidence of the system, things worked quite smoothly for Pools.

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This is undoubtedly a positive as it means Pools can house more than one system in their arsenal and be flexible throughout the season in games.

Gone are the days of regular flat back-fours. Teams need to be flexible in their approach to different games and different threats, with three centre-backs becoming ever more popular among teams.

In the 12 League Two fixtures at the weekend, 14 teams, including Pools, went with three centre-backs, either on their own or as part of a back five. So it is important for Pools to be able to use that system if they are to match up with their opponents tactically.

Pressing intent

As with developing systems, the tactical ploy of a high-press is also much more conventional and is something which Pools again displayed encouraging signs of.

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Immediately from the kick-off, Pools forced Wimbledon into their own right-back area, with Umerah laying down a physical marker.

Alongside Umerah, both Hastie and Cooke helped press the Dons back in the early stages with Nik Tzanev forced into a number of rushed clearances which allowed a turnover in play.

The key for Pools is to be able to maintain that kind of focus, and discipline, for sustained periods of the game.

Playing out risk and reward

Hartley’s philosophy of playing out from the back has been on show throughout pre-season but with three centre-backs it became even more evident.

Yet with that comes an element of risk.

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Each of Menayese, Lacey and Murray all had moments in the first half where they were almost caught out in trying to play out from the back or misplaced a pass which might have led to trouble.

Conversely however, all three started several attacks with Lacey and Menayese, in particular, advancing forward with the ball at feet, whilst Murray made a number of progressive passes into the final third.

It’s a good weapon for Pools, and one you would expect to get better the more their synergy develops.

Umerah is a workhorse

He may not have found the back of the net yet, but there can be no denying the endeavour of Umerah.

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The striker was arguably the only outfield player to leave the Bescot Stadium a week ago near to the levels expected and he carried that on against Wimbledon.

Up against Will Nightingale and Alex Pearce, Umerah had another tough, physical, contest and gave as good as he got.

His strength allows him to hold things up well, and bring others into play, and he makes intelligent runs into the channels.

But for a fine stop from Tzanev he would have celebrated his first goal, but it won’t be far away if he continues in a similar manner.

Maybe Walsall was a blip

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The phrase of the week has been ‘it’s one game,’ following the Walsall defeat. And Pools showed that against Wimbledon.

Is there more to come? Of course. But it was important to draw a line under that opening day defeat and be able to renew the optimism.

This is almost an entirely new team and it will take time to settle and gel on a regular basis. But the goalless draw with Wimbledon at least offered signs of encouragement and suggests that, maybe, the Walsall defeat can be put down as a bad day at the office.

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