Pools boss Challinor concedes side got out of jail in first half
To the casual observer Saturday’s 4-0 win for Hartlepool United at Maidenhead must have looked pretty comprehensive, but Pools’ boss Dave
Challinor admitted his side were handed a ‘get out of jail free card’ following their first half performance.
The visitors could easily have found themselves three or possibly four goals down before the unfortunate Alan Massey headed into his own net just before the interval.
The blow left the Magpies dazed and confused and that grogginess continued into the second period when they were swept aside by the league leaders. But Challinor was gracious enough to accept it could have been a very different story had the Magpies taken their chances.
“We were nowhere near them in the first half,” he said. “The game should have been over, and we were very lucky.
“The first two games we’ve performed well in halves of games, but even in those games we did the basics well. We didn’t do that in the first half here and that’s massively our get out of jail free card because we should have been out of the game.”
Challinor stopped short of calling the game’s first goal a fluke, but he admits it turned the outcome firmly in Hartlepool’s favour.
“Had they got a goal it might have helped them kick on,” he said. “But we got the first goal and then it was tough for the (Maidenhead) players, especially at the moment when you’ve not got your home crowd behind you.
“It does become a mental test. We really gained from that first goal and kicked on in the second half going down the slope.”