By Albatross
May 30 2005

So it wasn't to be. Hartlepool United just didn't have the rub of the green in the Playoff Final; however we couldn't have gone much closer without making it. Albatross reflects on what must still class as a great day in Poolie History at Cardiff. The history books will show merely that Sheffield Wednesday won through after Extra Time; the reality for Pools is that we walked away from this game bloodied but unbowed, and gave every Poolie fan plenty to be proud of. The Wednesday fans that seemed so keen to lord it over us from the relative safety of their coaches and cars on the long journey back seemed to have missed the irony that quite literally their Cup Final - and arguably biggest game in the last decade - was against Hartlepool United, and Pools were within eight minutes of defeating them.

In the words of our song from the early 70s "Never Say Die", "We've got the guts here but never the luck here at Hartlepool". Scott was forced to make three substitions due to injury that denied him the opportunity to make any tactical switches; and a diabolical decision from the Ref to not only give an extremely dubious penalty but to dismiss Chris Westwood effectively cost us the match. From that point on we had to pull players out of position - Williams to Right Back, Boyd floating between right wing and centre forward - and that meant that our already tired legs suffered even more.

We couldn't have asked for more from the players, who gave every ounce of strength they had; we could however have asked a lot more from the Officials. For a major game such as this, consistency was called for but was sadly lacking; the decision for the Penalty was the obvious example, compounded by the subsequent red card, but there were plenty of other decisions as well that didn't go our way when they probably should have.

Every Pools fan can be justifiably proud of this team and what it has achieved though. Nobody gave us a chance when we were promoted two seasons ago; we've shoved all of the pundits words back in their faces by coming within three minutes of reaching one playoff final, and coming within eight of winning another. And this was a performance and a day that made it all worthwhile. Forget thirty years of hurt - for many Poolies this was the moment that made up for a lifetime of ridicule, despair, and mockery for their choice of team to support. This was for all of those who have witnessed the dark days of re-election campaigns and relegation fights; this was for those who have lived in exile, having to put up with the "Hartlepool - who are they?" comments from the fans of big clubs; this was for those who have been inspired to join the ranks of Pools fans by our rebirth as one of the most consistently successful sides in the lower divisions; this was for those, above all, who would have loved to see such a moment in the history of the club but didn't make it.

I'm sure there were plenty of Poolies thinking "If only old "X" could have seen this day" - plenty of lumps in throats as memories came to mind of relatives and friends that would have loved to have witnessed their club - our club - playing in front of a crowd of 60,000 for a prize beyond their imagining. Harold Hornsey, Frankie Baggs, and especially Paul Mullen were in my mind. I remember talking to Paul at a match seven or eight years ago; Pools were in danger of going out of the league, and we were talking about how we were both looking into how we'd get to Swansea for what might at that point have been our last game in League Football and even in the existence of the club. How much would he have enjoyed seeing the team he'd followed all his life, ten minutes away from Division 1 for the first time ever?

The dream is over for this year, but the dream is far from dead. Next season, there's always next season - and Pools will go into it with more reason to hope than most. Because, once more quoting the original Pools song: "We'll continue to try and we'll Never Say Die here at Hartlepool!"