Monkhouse - late goal

By Charlie Summerbell
September 23 2012

In midweek Hartlepool United manager Neale Cooper accused his team of putting on the sort of performance that gets bosses the sack. On Saturday sub Andy Monkhouse scored the sort of late goal that keeps bosses in work.

Pools were stuttering through their home game with Shrewsbury, threatening to lose after taking an early lead, then had to rely on Monkhouse’s late finish to rescue a point.

Jonathan Franks finished well after Steve Howard’s headed pass on 15 minutes, but after Scott Flinders made a great save to stop Matt Richards,  Marvin Morgan levelled.

With minutes to go, he scored again and it looked like a second disaster of the week was looming for Pools after the 5-0 hammering at Preston on Tuesday.

But Monkhouse’s volley got something out of another frustrating game in which Pools again looked like a team of strangers at times, Flinders forced to save well again in added time.

Cooper was relieved with the result and told the club website: “I got a good reaction today after a tough week following the defeat at Preston.

“During certain periods of the game we played some pretty good stuff, major credit to the boys for the way they kept going until the end and didn’t give up until they got the equalizer.

“I would like to thank the support today because they got behind the lads and I hope they saw a bit of desire and fight at the end in the way we came back to two each.”

They certainly did that, but they also saw too many mistakes, nerves and at time sheer panic.

With results as they are, Cooper and his players are under pressure with Pools on the fringe of the relegation zone and desperate for a remedy to their early-season ills.  Pools aren’t the team Cooper must have hoped and results and performances so far suggest that this is going to be a very difficult season unless they can find a blend.