Harewood ends his drought for Pools
MARLON Harewood got off the mark for Hartlepool at the ninth attempt – with boss Colin Cooper predicting there’s plenty more to come.
The well-travelled striker put the seal on a comfortable win over the Football League’s bottom club, with a neat one-onone finish following a breakaway.
He drew keeper Michael Poke, before rolling the ball through his legs for his first goal for the club.
And Cooper purred: “As soon as he was clear Marlon was always going to score, I was sure of it going in when he was one on one and that’s the extra quality Marlon has.
“Each week he’s been saying he wants to get a goal for me – I want him to get a goal for himself. The response he got as he came off the pitch was great and he’s become a big player for us.
“There is loads of young talent and they want the next hero and he could be that – still. I don’t care if he is 34, I was as fit as ever aged 36 so it’s what you do and Marlon is still a wee bit short.’’
Pools took the lead when Manchester United loanee Jack Barmby picked out the top corner from 16 yards with a crisp finish.
Top scorer Luke James made it two with a flick header from Barmby’s corner, before Harewood’s finish.
The Gulls played some neat football, but lacked a cutting edge up front. Loan striker Enoch Showumni played the role of target man, but lumbered for the most of his performance.
Their best chance came on half-time when Showumni fed Elliott Benyon, who turned in the area and fired at goal, but keeper Scott Flinders pulled the ball from the top corner.
In the second-half a firm Benyon strike was blocked by home centrehalf Sam Collins, but really the game was over as soon as James made it 2-0.
The Gulls are five points shy of safety and winless in five.
Boss Chris Hargreaves admitted:“It’s very disappointing, I thought we did well first-half, passed the ball well and were the better passing team. “We created three really good chances, but we have to score – simple story, you have to score on top.
“We conceded the first against the run of play and at half-time I said they had done well.
“And then we go and concede from a corner, a basic in football and from then we are chasing the game.
“We conceded a third when we were caught out going for a goal ourselves – I think the second goal and the manner we conceded it is more annoying than the third.’’