Overcoming Pools’ ‘dark arts’ tactics
FAN’S VIEW IAN DOOLEY
WE need just two more wins to regain our League position – it sounds simple when you factor in our 18 game unbeaten run and we now know that the first of those games is against Hartlepool.
The monkey hangers overcame Bromley last weekend 3-2 to earn the pleasure of a play-off semi-final at EP.
That game was definitely a game of 2 halves, Pools ran into a 3-0 lead within the first 30 minutes but the Londoners came back in the second half to show up Hartlepool’s defensive frailties.
The home side also showed off some of the “dark arts”, as Dave Challinor’s sides so often do.
Alun Armstrong’s lad, Luke, could easily have been shown a straight red in the first half for a foul that with a different referee would have had a huge impact on the game.
One thing I’d forgotten was that Rhys Oates (scored 2, made 1) played for County back in 2014 when on loan from Barnsley (1 goal in 12 games).
Our record against Hartlepool this season isn’t the best. We played at Victoria Park in December losing 4-0 when we had a nightmare of a game.
John Rooney was sent off for verbal dissent and Ash Palmer went the same way after a bit of histrionics (dark arts) from Luke Armstrong after a very dubious high foot.
We were a million miles from being at our best that night but the officials had a huge impact on the result.
The return game in March ended in a 1-1 draw.
If memory serves me right, we were much better that night, even so we had to come from behind as we’d gifted Pools an early goal at the start of the second half but this was the game where Paddy Madden opened his County goal tally, (how we all hope he’s fit to play at least a part in these final 2 games) and maybe we’re due a win if the god’s of football have anything to do with fairness.
It should be a good game for the neutral, their away record isn’t great but neither is ours at home, for both sets of supporters, those of us in the ground and those sat watching on TV, it’ll be a nail biting, nerve jangling 90 minutes of football unless, of course, we storm into a four-goal lead in the first 10 minutes. Come on County.