THE BLUES
A big night for the Blues where another away win could really see us back in the mix. At the time of writing the rumour mill is doing overtime, strikers from
Would not be surprised to see the same eleven start at the Pool as Saturday where a repeat of the effort and all round team display that we saw on the south coast could well see another win. Good luck to the team and everybody making the long trip north.
THE OPPOSITION
Not in the best of form Hartlepool have picked up just three points from their last six matches, three draws and three defeats. They lost at home on Cheltenham, a report on that game coming up as well as the team that finished that game, and their last win was on December 15 when they beat
They are currently in 17th place in League One on 30 points, four points from safety.
Defender Jamie McCunnie has returned to training following a knee problem and should be available as the Pools look to bounce back from Friday's 2-0 defeat to
HARTLEPOOL United slipped closer to the wrong end of the table after a dismal performance. Pools were fortunate to go in just 1-0 down at half-time after they were totally outplayed by visitors
Pools had a scare in the fifth minute when Elliott failed to deal with D'Agostino and ended up lying embarrased on the floor.
Cheltenham took the lead in the 11th minute when
Pools responded immediately with Brown forcing a decent save from the
Pools were all over the place at the back and the Robins had yet another brilliant opportunity in the 25th minute. Humphreys was unable to stop D'Agostino who raced down the wing and threaded Brooker who had only Lee-Barrett to beat. But Pools' luck was shining yet again as Brooker's shot went wide. The onslaught momentarily ceased when the linesman went off injured. Pools' fortune continued when Wright bent in a free-kick from the left. Lee-Barrett came and made an absolute hash off his punch and the ball bounced off Gillespie's head, only for Liddle to clear off the line. With five minutes to go Brown showed a glimmer of hope when he controlled the ball well on the edge of the box, but his shot was deflected behind for a corner.
Pools came out from the break fired up.
Danny Wilson made his first change in the 52nd minute when he replaced Elliott with Robson - forcing Humphreys to go to left-back.
Brown somehow failed to grab the equaliser in the 62nd minute when
Robson went close when his tame shot from the edge of the box was badly spilt by
Brown went close in the 75th minute after a brilliant piece of work by
Lee-Barrett, Nolan, Nelson, Clark, Elliott, Brown, Boland, Liddle, Humphreys, Moore, Barker. Subs: Robson, Foley, Antwi, Sweeney, Porter.
THE MATCHES
38 matches played: WON 19 DRAWN 9 LOST 10. (Away: Played 20; WON 7 DRAWN 3 LOST 10.)
This surprised me a bit because I thought we had been on the back foot with our north-eastern friends, certainly a good percentage of wins away, however we started with four successive victories and seven wins out of the first ten matches, all in the sixties and seventies, so my memory of defeats are a touch closer to home!
Friday night Sep. 2 1966, the Beatles were No. 1 with Yellow Submarine, (in fact pop pickers it was a double 'A' side, so if you want to be in my pub quiz tea, what was on the other side?), and Woodley and Firmani scored in 2-0 win against
Our biggest win was a 4-0 at the Hall on Sep. 26 1980; Gray, Poutney, Mercer and Otulakowski the scorers, sadly trumped by a 1-5 defeat away on Feb. 23 2002, Belgrave got our consolation.
The last season we played them we did the double. A 2-1 win away on December 28, 2005, a game many feel was the turning point in our championship season. We had not won in the league since Oct. 29 when we beat
We followed up with a 3-0 win at the home of football on March 25 06; Gower and Freddie with a mere double this time seeing us remain at the top of League One by a mere 8 points! Those were the days my friend. (No that wasen't it, the answer is 'Eleanor Rigby', a visit from the blue meanies for everybody who got it wrong.)
THE GROUND
The ground was greatly improved in the mid 1990's, with the construction of two new stands at one end and one side of the ground. The Cyril Knowles Stand is the newer of the two side stands. It is a small single tier covered all seated stand, raised above the ground level. The other side, the Camerons Brewery Stand, has covered seating to the rear and open terrace to the front. This stand does not run the full length of the pitch and has an odd mix of orange and green seating, that clashes with the club colours. Both ends are small covered affairs. The newer end is the small Expamet Town End, a covered terrace, for home fans. The other end, the Rink End stand, is a small covered all seated stand which houses away supporters.
The wind whipping the North Sea goes right through you, so wrap up well unless there is a heat wave. Away fans are in the Rink End Stand at one end of the ground, where up to 967 can be seated. Unfortunately there are a few supporting pillars in this stand, which may hinder your view, especially if there is a large away following. However acoustics are good even for small numbers. Look out for the biggest meat & potato pies you have ever seen being served within the ground, they are huge!
If you wonder why Hartlepool are referred to as the 'Monkey Hangers' then it is because the residents of Hartlepool are famously said to have hanged a monkey that was washed up from a ship that had sunk during the Napoleonic wars, because they thought the monkey was a French spy. The Club take this to good heart and of course who else would they have as their club mascot? H'Angus the monkey of course!
THE CAR
From the A19 take the A689 signposted Hartlepool. Follow the A689 towards the Town Centre. Follow Town Centre signs for 2.8 miles, over two roundabouts. Go straight over the next two sets of lights, passing Hartlepool College on your right. The next left takes you to the stadium. If you miss the turning (as I did), go past ASDA on your left, left at the next roundabout and then left at the next traffic lights for the ground. There is a fair sized car park at the ground. Otherwise there is plenty of street parking to be found behind the away end.
THE HISTORY
West Hartlepool Amateur Football Club was the first recorded outfit playing to Association rules in the town from 1881. In 1905 they won the F.A. Amateur Cup, beating Clapton 3-2 at Shepherd's Bush, London. In 1908 the town's Rugby Club, whose home was Victoria Ground, folded, and a professional football club was formed to avail itself of the opportunity to take over the ground. Snappily named 'The Hartlepools United Football Athletic Company Limited' it adopted the "Hartlepools" bit on the grounds that its aim was to unite the two boroughs of Hartlepool and West Hartlepool. However West Hartlepool Amateur Football Club were having none of it and continued as a separate entity. Slightly bizarrely, with Victoria Ground being in West Hartlepool, Hartlepools United and West Hartlepool Amateur Football Club then played at the same ground until the amateurs folded in 1910. Hartlepools United could now justifiably claim to represent the whole town.
Victoria Ground achieved what must surely be a unique feat in the First World War. It was bombed by a Zeppelin and shelled by the Kaiser's navy. After the War the club played in the Northern Victory League for a season, then the North-East League. In 1921 they were given one of the automatic places in the Football League's newly formed Division Three North. And there they remained, with little more excitement than the occasional need for re-election, until 1958 when the reorganisation of the Football League saw them into Division Four. They continued there, with even Brian Clough, in his first managerial appointment from 1965-67, unable to get them up. However he and Peter Taylor had sown seeds, and the following season Hartlepools United achieved their first ever promotion, finishing third. They dropped the 's' and 'United' and the very next season it was Hartlepool who were..... relegated straight back down. The season after that they were back in the re-election mix once again.
In 1990-91 Hartlepool United (the 'United' but not the 's' had been restored in 1977) achieved their second promotion, again in third place. This time they lasted three seasons. During this time they achieved a Football League record of 1,227 minutes without scoring and came close to being wound up.
They must like fiddling with names in Hartlepool. Back in the bottom division again they decided in 1995 that Victoria Ground would be called Victoria Park.
In 1997 the club was bought by Increased Oil Recovery Ltd. In Hartlepool terms the new century has been a bonanza of success. From 2000-2002 under Chris Turner they made the play-offs three years in a row, only to lose out each time. In 2002-03 they looked as if they were going to storm the division. Turner left for Sheffield Wednesday in November but they went an absolute mile ahead. However the massive lead was squandered and Rushden & Diamonds took the title. Although they did finish second and got their third promotion Mike Newell's contract was not renewed. The following season under Neale Cooper they were in the Second Division play-offs but were knocked out by Bristol City. In 2004-05 they were closing in on a play-off place once again when Cooper walked out. Martin Scott stepped up on a caretaker basis and took them through the Semi-Finals against red hot favourites Tranmere Rovers and on to the Millennium Stadium. They lost out to Sheffield Wednesday in extra time but Scott was rewarded with the manager's job on a permanent basis.
The 2005-06 season saw the side slip down the division to the relegation places helped in part by poor management, an indecisive board room and key player injuries. Manager Martin Scott was suspended after an alleged fight with a player in the changing rooms, which resulted in his dismissal. Youth team coach Paul Stephenson was put in charge until the end of the season and despite remaining undefeated in his first five games in charge, he could not prevent the club being relegated into the fourth tier in May 2006. Some felt that Hartlepool's relegation was unfair given that Rotherham United had escaped administration, and therefore a 10 point deduction and relegation, by delaying a CVA meeting until after the season had ended.
On June 13, 2006, Danny Wilson was appointed manager. On 1 January 2007 Hartlepool United equalled the all-time Football League record of consecutive wins without conceding a goal. The 1-0 win at Mansfield Town was the 8th straight win without conceding. The club went on to complete a 23 match unbeaten run which finally ended against the team they last lost to Barnet. Hartlepool bounced back to League One at the first time of asking, finishing second behind champions Walsall. This was the clubs second promotion in four years and proved again that the side is once again on the up, despite the relegation of the previous season.
(Thanks to all of the usual suspects for their help with this article.)