Denis Behan

By Charlie Summerbell
September 2 2009

Striker Denis Behan says Hartlepool United will bounce back and hit Oldham on the rebound when they go into their League One game at Boundary Park on Friday night. They certainly need to, otherwise their early-season drama will be well on the way to turning into a crisis. After losing all three of their home League One games, it’s only their away form that’s keep Pools’ heads above water, thanks to a draw at MK Dons and a win at Gillingham.

They need to maintain that good away form at Oldham, but it won’t be easy against a side just as desperate for a win.
Oldham haven’t won at home, either, managing only draws against Stockport and Swindon at Boundary Park before this week’s home defeat at the hands of Lancashire League Two neighbours Accrington Stanley in the Johnstone’s Paints Trophy.
Former Darlo boss Dave Penney has been trying to rebuild Oldham after moving there during the summer, but like Pools they are finding that a new team takes time to bed in.
However, both they and their fans will be expecting a better result against Pools, so there’s a lot at stake for both teams on Friday.

Pools boss Chris Turner amazingly ignored the claims of both James brown and Adam Boyd for last weekend’s home defeat at the hands of Norwich, preferring instead to play Colin Larkin alongside Behan in attack.
In his blog on the club website Behan describes Pools’ performance against Norwich as shocking – a refreshing admission from a pro footballer. He also admits he and his mates don’t know why they were so bad, but he says it was a freak performance that won’t happen again and insists Oldham will feel a backlash.

Hopefully he’s right, because Pools are in the danger zone now and while there’s a long way to go this season, they can’t afford to stay there any longer.

Playing either Boyd or Brown alongside Behan might go some way towards repairing the damage done in the Norwich game – leaving yhour best chances of scoring on the bench seems a strange tactic to follow.