By Albatross
February 6 2004

Hartlepool United take on Barnsley at Oakwell, looking for revenge after the Yorkshire club's win at the Vic that ended our unbeaten run on Boxing Day. With the ref coming in for plenty of criticism after his "I see no ships" attitude in the Barnsley penalty area, Pools have a score to settle. Pools will not find things easy on Saturday though. Barnsley are a good side at home themselves - they have suffered just one defeat at Oakwell in the league this season, and have been busy strengthening their squad in the meantime.

That defeat came on 28th December at the hands of lowly Chesterfield, and since then they have drawn one and won one at home - with a couple of away draws and a defeat into the bargain. Gudjon Thordarson has been bolstering his squad, with two permanent and two loan signings since Boxing Day; he has though released Paul Warhurst, and seen the end of Jonathan Walters loan.

Two of the signings have been Goalkeepers, following the decision to release of Sasa Ilic. Tony Caig joined on loan from Newcastle, and played three games before the arrival of Marlon Beresford from Luton - and it is Beresford that is likely to be in goal against Pools.

The forward line is the other place to see new arrivals - Man Utd youngster Daniel Nardiello has come in on loan, and despite having a disappointing loan spell at Swansea got off to a dream start by scoring twice on his debut against Blackpool; the other scorer in the 3-0 win was Mark Stallard, newly arrived from Notts County. The Tykes had also been chasing Grimsby's Michael Boulding, without success.

Another boost to the Oakwell club is the recovery from injury of Dean Gorre. The midfielder remains their second top scorer despite a long spell missing through injury; however, he is still struggling for match fitness and may well not start against Pools. Craig Ireland will miss the game through suspension, and Tony Gallimore and Ashley Scothern are still recovering from injury.

One player who will be playing though is Kevin Betsy; the winger is currently leading scorer for the club, his double against Pools and another last weekend against Notts County taking him into double figures.

For Pools, the main speculation concerns who will fill the right back spot. Arnison and Bass have both departed this week, and with Barron suspended we are a little thin on the ground - first year scholar Neil Muckles filled the position for the reserves in midweek. The most likely scenario is that Westwood will move across, Walker coming into the middle. Another option would be to go for 3-5-2, but that would mean that Shuker would find himself having to play as a wing-back - meaning we'd lose some of his attacking threat. Hugh Robertson is set to make his debut on the left, but beyond that it's probable that we'll see the rest of the players on duty for our win in the snow against Port Vale.

Pools face a stiff challenge against the Tykes, but a point is far from impossible. While Barnsley may only have suffered one home defeat, they have drawn more than they've won; and we've recorded two victories and a draw - including two clean sheets - in our last three away. 1-1 then, Williams to continue his recent good form.