By Albatross
May 20 2003

January saw Hartlepool United ease away at the top of the table, and Gordon Watson finally returned to action. The Pools Online review of 2002/3 continues. Brian Barry-Murphy was recalled to play for Preston before the New Year's Day game with Carlisle; he'd not appeared to offer anything more than Robinson, but after a couple of games for Preston Chris Turner signed him for the second time. Was he really a first division player? Maybe the gap wasn't as big as we all thought.

Carlisle may still have been holding a grudge, despite not actually paying Pools any money, but it was again Pools who triumphed: after going 1-0 down early on, goals from Lee and Williams were enough to clinch the win. Another victory followed just three days later, as Darrell Clarke - who had only scored his first of the season a week before with a late penalty against Cambridge - started making up for lost time and scored the winner against Boston on a terrible pitch at York Street.

With Pools on a run of three straight wins, they frustratingly then had to sit out for a fortnight when the game against Macclesfield was frozen off. Oxford were our opponents at the Vic, and came with some confidence: they hadn't lost in seven league games, had beaten Rushden away, and looked set to make a serious challenge for the third automatic spot. They went home with their tails between their legs following a 3-1 defeat where Pools scored their goal for them - a Mickey Barron own goal - Marcus Richardson netting twice.

Pools were now well and truly on a roll, and the winning streak hit five in the rearranged game with Macclesfield. Williams scored the goal in a 1-0 win that was much more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests.

The return trip to Cambridge again saw Pools shut out the Cambridge attack; however we failed to score ourselves to finish with a draw. Eifion Williams was surprisingly substituted at half time; and the game was to prove the start of a dry spell for our leading scorer.

Meanwhile, Gordon Watson was finally hitting the comeback trail. Having initially been told he'd be out for 8-10 weeks, things hadn't gone according to plan; but the middle of the month saw him finally take to the field again for the reserves. Another 90 minutes - and two goals - against Darlington Reserves followed - surely he'd be back soon?

There was no surprise when Mike Newell was given the Manager of the Month award; from being level on points on Boxing Day, we had pulled out a lead of 6 points over Rushden while the rest of the field was even further behind - 15 points to the playoff places. Already, it looked to be a case of not if Pools won promotion, but when.