28/12/98 - Hartlepool United 0 Rochdale 1
A fifth consecutive defeat and now the perverbally really has hit the fan
A Mick Tait out banner was sheepishly displayed at half time and came out
again at full time. Chants of sack the board and where's your cheque book IOR
could also be heard at the final whistle. Pools usual mid season slump has
arrived a month or two early this year and boss Mick Tait is hanging on by
his finger tips. Pool dominated the match but failed to turn chances into goals with big striker Steve Howard forcing visiting 'keeper Neil Edwards into make some brilliant saves, while defenders Ian McGuckin and Graeme Lee both had efforts cleared off the line. Apart from the goal, Rochdale's only chances were long- range efforts, but home 'keeper Simon Miotto marked his home debut with acrobatic saves from Ian Bryson and Alan Johnson. The only goal of the game came in the 79th minute when Carden crossed for substitute
Holt to glance a header into the top right hand corner of the net from 8 yards out. Fourth bottom and in
trouble Pool need some inspiration.
Pool team : Miotto, Knowles, Smith, Barron, Lee, McGuckin, Di Lella, Stokoe, Howard, Irvine
(sub 58 mins Brightwell), Stephenson. Subs not used : Miller Hutt. Booked : None. Attendance : 2218
26/12/98 - Scunthorpe 1 Hartlepool United 0
Pool boss Mick Tait gave a full debut to Australian goalkeeper
Simon Miotto after he or should I say IOR finally admitted that
Martin Hollund was struggling big time. The Pool defence looked a lot
tighter with Ian McGuckin putting in a commanding performance as Pool
had to weather both some strong attacking play from Scunthorpe and
gail force winds. Miotto made fine saves from both Justin Walker and
Paul Harsley and Pools best chance fell to Tommy Miller who shot wide from
15 yards out. The only goal to seperate the two teams came in the 65th minute
when the leagues top scorer Jamie Forrester was set free by Alex Calvo Garcia
and after a 50 yard race he drove home his 14th goal of the season with his
right foot.
Pool team : Miotto, Knowles, Smith, Barron, Lee, McGuckin, Miller, Stokoe,
Howard, Midgley, Hutt. Subs not used : Irvine, Downey, Stephenson. Booked :
McGuckin 14 mins (foul); Howard 89 mins (dissent). Attendance : 3621
20/12/98 - Hartlepool United 2 Southend United 4
Another home defeat, the third in a row now and the pressure
is building on Pool manager Mick Tait. Tait included new loan
signing and former Poolie Ian McGuckin in the starting eleven and
Pool got of to a flier creating eight chances in the first
ten minutes. However only one went in and it was Gus Di Lella
who got it with an eight-yard volley into the roof of the net after
Howard headed down a cross. Southend pulled level in the 17th minute
when a 20-yard angled drive from Scott Houghton beat Hollund at his near post.
Southend went 1-2 up in the 27th minute when Pool keeper Martin Hollund
was easily beaten as Newman powered home a close range header.
Seven minutes later things went from bad to worse for Pool as
Southend stretched there lead further. Martin Hollund went for an easy
catch from a Houghton free kick but dropped the ball, allowing
Trevor Fitzpatrick to scramble it home from close range.
In the second half Southend had the points gift wrapped for them
after 80 minutes when a Livett corner was not defended and Barry Conlon
netted with a low header. Steven Howard managed to scrape a last minute
consolation for sad Pool with a low 25-yarder into the bottom
right-hand corner from right in front of goal. Norwegian 'keeper
Martin Hollund had a nightmare and manager Mick Tait is facing
a Victoria Ground crisis. He kept the players locked in the dressing
room long after the match.
HARTLEPOOL: Hollund, Knowles, Ingram, Barron, Lee, McGuckin, Brightwell (Irvine 70), Di Lella, Howard, Midgley (Stokoe 62), Stephenson. Subs not used: Downey.
Booked : Lee 46 (foul), Di Lella 57 (foul). Attendance : 1889
15/12/98 - Sorensen set for Pool role
ITV teletext is reporting tonight that Ex-Walsall manager
Jan Sorensen is set for a return to English football
in the role of chief executive with Hartlepool United.
The story on the Nationwide site states :
Former Walsall manager Jan Sorensen is set for a
return to English football with Third Division Hartlepool United.
Dane Sorensen is being lined up by the club's owners, Increased Oil Recovery Ltd, to take on the role of chief executive. The move would allow former chairman and current director Harold Hornsey to take a back seat. Hornsey has remained in day-to- day control at Victoria Park since selling out to IOR last September. IOR spokesman Ian McRae said: "Nothing has been decided, but we were impressed by him and he was impressed by the club. "We still have some talking to do but we are hoping we may have someone in place for this new position in the new year, whether it is Sorensen or someone else." Hornsey, who rescued the club from the verge of bankruptcy when he bought out former chairman Garry Gibson, said: "I want to be able to spend more time with my family, and having someone else would help me enormously. "This is a move which I welcome. "I still love this club and I want to be there to help steer it in the right direction. "I am in no hurry to leave. But the pressures have been enormous, and I would like to take a back seat."
14/12/98 - Carlisle United 2 Hartlepool United 1
Carlisle gained revenge for Pool knocking them out of this seasons FA Cup with
a 2-1 win at Brunton Park. In a week which speculation was rife in Carlisle that
Peter Beardsley and Nigel Pearson had been offered the job of manager and coach
at Brunton Park, Carlisle took the three points. Pool fell 'behind' in the 21st
minute when Damon Searle chased a Darren Knowles back-pass and jumped to block
Martin Hollund's clearance with the ball rebounding past the stranded Hollund
to bounce over the goal line. Things went from bad to worse for Pool in the 25 minute when on loan striker Junior Mendes side stepped Denny Ingram's challenge
and clevely lobbed the ball over Hollund from a difficult narrow angle.
In the second half Pool continued to struggle and never really look as if they
could get back into the game. In the 90th minute Will Varty tripped Craig Midgley
and Denny Ingram stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way from the penalty spot.
A poor alround display by Pool who looked lost without the power and strength of
Steve Howard in attack. Paul Baker made his return but could not inspire his side
to repeat the FA Cup result of two weeks previous.
Pool team : Hollund, Knowles, Clark (Baker 66), Barron, Lee, Ingram, Stokoe, Di Lella, Rush (Brightwell 70), Midgley, Stephenson. Unused sub : Hutt. Booked : Midgley 46 mins (foul), Di Lella 84 mins (foul). Attendance : 3025.
09/12/98 - Chester City 1 Hartlepool United 2 (AutoWindscreens Shield)
Out of one cup and straight into another, Pool progressed to the second stage of the AutoWindscreens Shield last night with a golden goal win over Chester City.
Manager Mick Tait named the same side which started Saturdays FA Cup match with
Fulham, with the exception of recalling Graeme Lee to replace Gustavo Di Lella who
appears to have landed himself in a bit of trouble. After receiving a stamp on the
head from Fulham's Simon Morgan during the 4-2 defeat at Craven Cottage, Gus was
clearly not happy. In the players bar after the match Di Lella spotted Morgan
and proceeded to alledgley stick one on him. Pool have fined Gus two weeks wages
and threatened to terminate his contract if he becomes involved in any more 'incidents'. Pool having already played Chester at the Deva stadium this season
a game which ended 1-1. This match however could not be a draw and had to be
settled on the night. Chester took the lead in the 13th minute Shelton scrambled the
ball home. Pool huff and puffed in the remainder of the first half with nothing
to show for their efforts.
In the first minute of the second half Pool
pulled level. Steve Howard collecting his fifth goal of the season. Chester took
the game to Pool but suffered a set back in the 68th minute when ex Darlington
central defender Andy Crosby was sent off. "Following a corner, Hollund dropped on the ball and was then hit by a very bad, very late two-footed challenge from a Chester Player. As Stuart Hall might say, "A Melee ensued", with almost all of the players except the prostrate Hollund joining in, including their keeper who ran
from his own box. When the dust settled, Hollund was able to continue while
the Ref quite rightly sent off the Chester player and then booked another
for dissent" said eye witness and HUFC mailing list member Rob Weir. Full time soon
followed with the teams locked at 1-1. A period of 30 minutes extra time or a
golden goal which ever came first was next on the Agenda. Pool boss Mick Tait
replaced Paul Stephenson with Stuart Brightwell and Pool came to life. As half
time of extra time approached sub Brightwell cut inside a defender and fired a 20 yard shot along the ground and into the bottom right hand corner of the net. End of
match.
Pool team : Hollund, Knowles, Clark, Ingram, Barron, Lee, Stokoe, Miller (Baker), Stephenson (Brightwell), Howard, Midgley (Rush). Attendance : 960.
07/12/98 - Fulham 4 Hartlepool United 2 (FA Cup Round 2)
Pool took on the riches of Mr Al Fayed and lets be honest gave as good as
they got. 11 million pound Fulham fielded Paul Peschisolido and Geoff Horsfield
up front with 2 million pound striker Barry Hayles placed on the right wing.
I could go on naming players who are household names in the world of football
but we all know about the strengths of this Fulham team. Pool on the other
hand fielded a team which cost £10,000 to put together, and all that went on
Craig Midgley. Micky Barron returned as Captain and a good job to as without
him we'd have had no recognised central defenders on the pitch. Fulham could have
opened the scoring after only 10 seconds when a Horsfield shot was well palmed
away by the alert Martin Hollund. The Fulham 'faithful' didn't have to wait much
longer for their first goal. A deep cross from Paul Bracewell found Horsfield at
the back post and he made no mistake with his second chance of the game. Not the
start Pool would have wished for and for the first 30 minutes Pool looked shell
shocked and in danger of a drubbing. However some simple one touch football in midfield and Pool started to get their confidence back. On fire Craig Midgley
pulled Pool level in the 42nd minute. Midgley scoring his third goal in the last
three games made space for himself and fired home low and hard to the right of Maik Taylor from 16 yards.
The second half started similar to the first, Fulham on the attack. In the first
minute of the second half Matt Brazier raced to the bye-line before sending over a deep cross which saw Peschisolido initially claim the goal, but with just a suspicion that Gustavo Di Lella had headed past his own 'keeper. In fact looking at
the reaction of Di Lella it was clear to see he'd scored the goal. Pool didn't let
their heads drop though and in the 57th minute an excellent series of passes found Craig Midgley, who sent over a low cross which the striker Steve Howard despatched easily at the far post. A well deserved goal from Pool who had played some great football. However the threat of Fulham was still high and more goals looked likely.
Pool continued to press forward but in the 81st minute a corner from Steve Hayward found the Cottagers skipper Simon Morgan steaming in to head powerfully home past 'keeper Martin Hollund. And to finally kill Pool off two minutes later substitute John Salako centered perfectly for the former Halifax marksman Horsefield to fire home from point-blank range after the ball had bounced over a Pool defender.
Pool could not find a way back into the game and the home side breathed a collective
sigh of relief. A performance Pool could be proud of and on another day with a full
set of central defenders who know's, Pool may have hung on for a reply.
Pool team : Hollund, Knowles, Clark, Ingram, Barron, Stokoe, Di Lella (Hutt), Miller, Stephenson (Brightwell), Howard, Midgley. Subs not used : Baker, Rush,
Miotto. Booked : Di Lella 43 mins (foul); Howard 56 mins (foul); Midgley 67 mins (foul). Attendance: 6,358
29/11/98 - Hartlepool United 1 Swansea City 2
Pools sequence of win one lose one continued with this home
defeat to Swansea. Pool as usual started brightly and took the lead
through in form Craig Midgley. Steve Howard flicked the ball over the
defence and Midge finished neatly with a eight yard flick into the left hand
side of the goal. Pool pressed forward and Gus Di Lella had a shot hit the
underside of the bar right on half time as Pool looked to double
their advantage. In the second half Pool continued to press and up
until the hour mark where clearly on top. However from the hour onwards
it all went a little Pete Tong. Julian Alsop powered in a six yard header
from a Howard (there's not ours) corner in the 69th minute.
10 minutes later in the 79th minute Alsop did the same but this time from
10 yards out. Pool could not get an equaliser and the heads dropped.
The fighting spirit Mick Tait is longing for seemed to be nowhere after
Swansea had taken the lead.
Pool team : Hollund, Knowles, Clark, Ingram, Lee, Di Lella, Brightwell,
Stokoe (Miller, 55 mins), Howard, Midgley, Stephenson. Subs not used : Irvine,
Hutt. Pool bookings : None, yipee !!. Attendance : 2051
As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. The silver lining to this
latest cloud is if our current win, lose sequence is to continue we will beat
Fulham on Saturday! Now there's optimism for you!
22/11/98 - Scarborough 1 Hartlepool United 2
Pools continued to be a constant thorn in the side of
Scarborough with this battling away win at the Chip Pan
Stadium. Pook took an early lead in the 14th minute when
in form striker and ex-Scarborough loanee Craig Midgley nipped
in to score after a Paul Stephenson corner was badly dealt with
by the home defence. Pool stretched their lead in the 26th minute
when a Paul Stephenson free kick was met by Howard who's shot
was well saved, the ball rebounded to Stuart Brightwell who ran
in to blast the ball home from five yards.
Scarborough dragged themself's back into the game in the
49th minute. A Wayne Bullimore corner found Jamie Hoyland at the
far post and he slotted home with an easy chance from six yards.
Despite mounting pressure on the Pool goal Scarborough could
not manage an equaliser and Pool held on for three valuable points.
Pool are now above local rivals Darlington in the third division.
Darlington do have two games in hand but who cares ? One bad piece
of news though was Graeme Lee's fifth booking of the season for
dissent. This means he could well miss Pool's second round F.A.
Cup match with either Leigh RMI or Fulham. That reply is live on
Sky Sports this Tuesday (24/11/98) night.
Pool team : Hollund, Knowles, Clark, Ingram, Lee, Di Lella,
Brightwell, Stokoe, Howard, Midgley, Stephenson. Unused subs :
Irvine, Evans, Hutt. Booked : Lee (56 mins) Dissent. Attendance : 1715.
14/11/98 - Hartlepool United 2 Carlisle United 1
Pool have progressed to the second round of the F.A. Cup
for the first time in six years after this excellent win
against Carlisle. Carlisle created the better of the early
chances but as soon as Steve Howard had put Pool ahead in the
43 minute there was no looking back. Paul Stephenson's cross
was headed down by Craig Midgley and Howard took advantage to lash
the ball home from close range. Carlisle equalised in the second
half when Damion Searle's free kick on the left found Ian Stevens
eight yards out who glanced a header over Martin Hollund.
Pool always looked likey to score again and they did. Ian Clark
did superb to battle his was to the goal line and drag the ball
back into the path of Tommy Miller who had the simple job of
side footing the ball into the net.
Pool team : Hollund, Knowles, Clark, Ingram, Lee, Di Lella,
Brightwell (Rush 73 (Irvine 88)), Miller (Stokoe 77), Howard,
Midgley, Stephenson. Subs not used : Downey and Hutt. Pool
bookings : Clark 17 mins (foul). Attendance : 2845
10/11/98 - Hartlepool United 1 Mansfield Town 2
Mansfield started this game much better than Pool and were
easily in control of the first half thanks to two strikes by
Tony Lormor. His first came as he chested down a Ford cross
before volleying a 20 yarder into the right hand corner of the
net. Lormor's second goal was a two yard tap in after another
pinpoint Ford cross had been headed on by Harper. After the
break Pool pulled a goal back through a Denny Ingram penalty.
Tommy Miller round Bowling in the Mansfield goal who then
pulled Miller down as he was about to shot. Ingram tucked
the spot kick into the bottom right hand corner out of Bowling's
reach. Pool should have gone on to win the match. Craig Midgley
the hero against Plymouth turned villain has he missed three
clear cut chances during the second half.
Pool team : Hollund, Knowles, Clark, Ingram, Lee, Di Lella,
Brightwell, Miller, Howard, Midgley, Stephenson. Subs not used :
Irvine, Stokoe and Hutt. Bookings for Pool : None. Attendance : 1779
7/11/98 - Hartlepool United 2 Plymouth Arglye 0
Within nine minutes of the start of this match Pool had made
a mockery of Plymouth's proud defensive record. Plymouth arrived
at the Vic with only 10 goals scored against them in the league
this season. Pool took the lead in the second minute when Craig Midgley's
pace forced visiting defender Watton to direct the ball past
the advancing Jon Sheffield in the Plymouth goal. Midgley
doubled the lead in the ninth minute whan he latched onto a
weak backpass from a Plymouth throw in to slot a 15 yard shot
into the bottom corner of the net. Pool had several other
chanes throughout the game to increase there lead but could
not take any of them. Pool's best performance of the season
at the Vic and without top scorer Chris Beech who has walked
out on the club after a propossed move to Sheffield United
fell through. For more details on this story take a look at
the message board.
Pool team : Hollund, Knowles, Clark, Ingram, Lee, Di Lella (Irvine 90)
Brightwell, Miller, Howard (Hutt 90), Midgley, Stephenson (Rush 84).
Bookings : Howard 54 mins (foul), Di Lella 77 mins (foul), Rush 85 mins
(time wasting). Attendance : 2121
5/11/98 - Norwegian Midfielder Set for Pool Trial
Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet yesterday reported that Haugesund club captain
Asbjorn Helgeland will be coming to Hartlepool for a trial this weekend. Helgeland
is 32 years old and has scored 33 goals in 144 games during his career from a central midfield role. Although Pool are still crying out for a striker, if
Helgeland is anything near the quality of a certain Mr J.O. Pedersen than we cannot go wrong.
4/11/98 - Defender In, Barron Sidelined
28 year-old Norwegian centre-back Knut Nilsen has arrived at Pool on trial from
Lyn Oslo. Pool boss Mick Tait is looking at him with a view to a permament move and
Knut will be given his first run out in Pool colours in a reserve team game tonight.
Micky Barron's suspected broken collar bone has turned out to be only ruptured
shoulder muscles which should keep him sidelined for six weeks. Pool boss Mick Tait said
"Micky has seen a specialist and he has damaged the lesser of the two ligaments
in his shoulder. If it had been the main one he would definitely have needed an
operation. As it is, Micky has been told to wear a sling and work on building up his
shoulder muscles as much as possible. Instead of him being out for 12 weeks, we now
think it could be as little as six."
2/11/98 - Brighton 3 Pool 2
Pool made the trip to Brighton's temporary home in Gillingham without club
captain Micky Barron who has a suspected broken collar bone. In the pouring rain
Brighton took the lead in the 33rd minute. Denny Ingram was adjudged to have climbed
on Brighton's Johnson resulting in a penalty. Jeff Minton sent Martin Hollund the
wrong way from the spot kick. Pool equalised on 45 minutes when Stuart Brightwell
escaped down the left before crossing for Beech to score with a shot into the
ground which bounced into the roof of the net.
Pool took the lead in the 55th minute when Johnson failed to deal with a Brightwell cross and Midgley pounced to clip in his third goal of the season.
Brighton levelled the score when Rod Thomas cut inside a couple of challenges
to unleash a right foot shot from 25 yards which zipped past the diving Hollund.
Brighton took the lead in the 81st minute when Hart slide a pass into the path
of Minton who slotted home at the far post from point blank range. In the closing
minute's Pool should have equalised. Steve Howard hit the bar and had a header
cleared off the line. Chris Beech also had an effort saved by Ormerod in the
home goal.
Pool team : Hollund, Knowles, Clark, Ingram, Lee, Beech, Brightwell, Miller,
Howard, Midgley (Rush 87), Stephenson. Subs not used : Irvine, Hutt. Yellow
cards for Brightwell 69 minutes (foul). Attendance : 2765
Nov - Dec 98
