By Albatross
December 3 2004

Hartlepool United face Aldershot Town in the FA Cup Second Round on Saturday. Pools are strong favourites to progress to the Third Round and possibly another big money tie - our opponents are no mugs though and will be hoping to take advantage should we put in a below par performance. While the Shots should not be underestimated, they will travel to Pools more in hope than expectation. This may not be about the "romance" of the cup, with a teamful of plucky window cleaners and the like - as a full time side there are no stories of this nature - but the fact that one of the main talking points for Aldershot fans has been Pools' refusal to allow them to bring a drum with them, rather than realistic hopes of a cup upset, should tell you something.

While our opponents are still handily-placed in the Conference in 8th place, recent form has not been good. They haven't won in six games, and went down 3-2 at home to leaders Barnet last weekend; their only wins since early October have been against Maidenhead in the Final Qualifying Round, and then fellow Conference side Canvey Island in the First Round Proper. In an effort to help improve things, they have signed Swindon and former Walsall defender Ade Viveash - though whether the 35 year old will go straight into the side remains to be seen. With 27 goals conceded in 18 games, there are certainly signs that the defence is vulnerable.

Up front, Shots have scored 28 in the League and a further 6 in the Cup - not too bad, but they would have been hoping to do a bit better. In an effort to pep thinks up, boss Terry Brown bought in Jonny Dixon on loan from Wycombe - and he has made an impact, scoring twice in the defeat of Canvey, and notching another brace against Barnet last week. He already seems to be approaching cult status at the Rec, with many Shots fans hoping that he'll be staying on a more permanent basis. He's likely to be partnered up front by Tim Sills (5 goals) - though look out too for midfielder Jon Challinor, and Aaron McLean, who is mainly being used as a substitute but has scored four times this season. Roscoe D'Sane - leading scorer last season with 24 goals - is currently out, and with midfielder Adam Miller joining QPR three weeks ago, two of last season's success stories will not be featuring.

As far as team news for Pools goes, things look like they're getting a little better. Clark and Robertson both played for the reserves in midweek, and it's entirely possible that Clark at least will go straight into the starting eleven - though who would miss out is another question. Jack Ross also played - and scored - for the reserves, and given our current lack of options on the right may also earn a recall. With Darrell Clarke still not match fit, Eifion Williams still apparently struggling with a groin problem, and Steven Istead failing to do enough to suggest he should be a regular either, Cooper must be tempted to bring Robertson straight back in and switch to 3-5-2 - allowing him to play Clark, Nelson and Westwood at the back, Robertson and Ross on the wings, Humphreys, Tinkler and Sweeney in the middle and Boyd and Porter up front. However given the length of time Robertson has been out Cooper is more likely to decide to leave him on the bench at best and stick with 4-4-2. Andy Appleby must also be pressing for a start after he changed the game as a sub last weekend, but is more likely to find himself as a substitute again - although it won't be quite as youthful a set of players on the bench this week!

There's no doubt that Pools go into this game as strong favourites; providing we don't play badly, we should be able to win this game. However, we can't take things for granted - Aldershot will not exactly be willing to roll over and die, and have players of sufficient calibre to take advantage if too many of our own players aren't on their game. Then again, I said something not dissimilar before the last round, and Pools cruised to an easy victory! I reckon it will be a tight game at first, but that Pools extra quality will begin to tell as the game progresses and that we'll win fairly comfortably in the end. 3-1, with Boyd, Sweeney and Appleby to score.