Liddle - goal

By Charlie Summerbell
April 15 2012

It's typical of Hartlepool Un ited that in a season when they have sold more season tickets than ever before, thanks to the club's ground-breaking price reduction last summer, they should produce a terrible Victoria Park record.

And just when fans thought it couldn't get any worse, losing 2-1 at home to a poor Chesterfield team which will still probably be relegated just about put the tin hat on it.

A rare home goal gave Pools the lead in the first half, Gary Liddle scoring after a good home move for their first home goal in seven weeks.

They could have had more but for some good saves by Chesterfield keeper Tommy Lee, and sub Danny Whitaker levelled the game on the hour. With 20 minutes left Jordan Bowery headed the winner for Chesterfield, and they held on for what they hope will be a vital

victory.

Pools boss Neale Cooper had demanded a good finish to the season from his team, so this was a long way from what he had in mind.

“We dominated the first half, but we didn’t kill them off,” he told the club website. “We scored a really good goal and we had a few other chances, but I could always see a goal in Chesterfield.

“They had two or three chances and scored two, we had six or seven chances and scored one.”

Cooper added that when Pools went behind some of his players who had earlier wanted to get on the ball all the time no longer seemed to want it. “That’s about character,” he said.

It is, and it’s up to him to put together a team for next season that no longer hides when the going gets tough.