Rochdale Rock Pools!
28 April 2007
Attendance: 5846
Rochdale 2 Hartlepool 0
Our title hopes took a severe blow today after losing out 2 – 0 to a well organised and hard working Rochdale team and this allowed Walsall to return to the top of the league and reinstate their chances of lifting the title. Hartlepool looked nervous and did not perform on the field in front of 3000 travelling Poolies.
We had lots of chances but our team did not connect today and even Richie Barker (who is the Alan Shearer of Hartlepool United) had a penalty saved and this appeared to reduce confidence even further. Our defence is normally impenetrable but today they looked lack lustre. The suspension of Ben Clarke and the injury to Micky Barron meant Danny Wilson needed to name Mark Tinkler and Darren Williams in the starting eleven which did not instil confidence at the back. This was made worse after half an hour when our rock Micky Nelson was injured and needed to be replaced.
The lads were very wound up and this proved to be our downfall today. Richie Barker was sent off for instinctively handling the ball off the line and Andy Monkhouse showed his inexperience by going in with a wreckless tackle then losing his head and raising his hands producing a straight red card from the referee. Pools were down to 9 men and Rochdale also had John Doolan sent off. The game was certainly full of drama, 3 red cards, 3 penalties and 2 goals from Rochdale making this a very bad day for Hartlepool.
It is very hard being a Poolie, we don’t do things by half and are now relying on a slip up by Walsall who are away to Swindon and a win for Pools at home next week to Bristol Rovers if we are to lift the title. We cannot throw this title away like we did against Rushden and Diamonds – can we?
Come on the Pools!!
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