By Albatross
February 14 2005

While Hartlepool United have finally waved goodbye to the FA Cup, failing once again to get past Round 4, there is still a chance of glory this season. With the teams above us in variable form, Automatic Promotion is by no means out of the question. So instead of Southampton it will be Port Vale for Pools next Saturday, and in the words of pretty much every manager following a cup defeat "we can concentrate on the League". As expected it was a tough game, and the early dismissal of Jack Ross was always going to put us up against it, even given Dimi's penalty save.

AS Nick Loughlin commented on Pools World though, one of the worst things about the result was that all those that wouldn't normally turn out for the game will quite possibly have gone away thinking "same old Pools, always let you down" after our biggest attendance of the season has seen our unbeaten home run ended. The fact that it's taken until February for us to lose at home, and that we've won the vast majority of them and are handily placed for a run at automatic promotion, never mind the playoffs, probably won't hit home with the 2-3000 "Part Timers" until the last couple of games of the season.

The regulars still know though that this is one of the most exciting times to be a Pools Fan, and that Cooper's side have plenty to aim for in Division 2. Our destiny remains in our own hands in the league, and with only Luton of the four teams ahead of us taking three points at the weekend, we are in fifth place and looking upwards. Luton of course deprived Hull of points, and with the Hatters our opponents tomorrow night Pools have the opportunity to close the gap on the teams ahead of us and display our intent. The fact that in all probability the crowd will be down by well over 2000 will be a disappointment, but it doesn't make the game any less vital to our promotion ambitions.

And to be honest those ambitions are looking more and more realistic as time goes by. We are level on points with Sheffield Wednesday with three games in hand; six behind Tranmere with three in hand; seven behind Hull with two in hand and eleven behind Luton with two in hand. Given we've got to play three of those four at home, those gaps could start closing dramatically. For example a win over Luton tomorrow night would see us close the gap on them to eight points with two extra games to play, take us above Sheffield Wednesday into 4th place, and close the gaps on Hull and Tranmere to three and four points with games still in hand on both sides. In fact, Luton are the only team of the four that we can't catch solely by our own efforts.

A win would also leave us seven points ahead of the teams chasing for a playoff place, again with games in hand, and fully justify us looking up the table rather than down. Saying that this game is more important than the cup defeat may sound like sour grapes - but the reality is that some good performances over the next few games could see us right in the thick of the promotion battle.