CT - pleased

By Charlie Summerbell
July 16 2010

Hartlepool United drew their second pre-season friendly in Holland, an enterprising display against FC den Bosch drawing praise from boss Chris Turner. Triallist Evan Horwood scored the goal in the second hal, but the Dutch side quickly equalized and probably deserved the draw. Turner expressed himself happy with the performance and with the week spent in Holland, where the players have not only worked on their fitness and tactics, but have also enjoyed some variety in their pre-season routine.
Pre-season results mean nothing, of course, but there were a few encouraging pointers for Pools, who will get their next big test when they face promoted Leeds United (weren’t they a big club once?) at Victoria Park next weekend.
Turner described the performance against Den Bosch as “terrific” and felt that his players passed and kept the ball well and controlled the second half.
One of the pluses was triallist Paul Murray in midfield alongside Joe Gamble and Antony Sweeney, while there was a first game for James Brown after he was left out in the first Dutch game because the club was unwilling to risk his knee on a plastic pitch.
There’s a game at South Shields on Tuesday night, probably mainly for reserves, while the Lees game is at 3 next Saturday afternoon.
The pre-season campaign continues at Garforth Town (Tue Aug 27), Whitley Bay (Wed Aug 28) and finally York (Sat Aug 31).