Monky - freak goal

By Clarence Rode
March 8 2009

Hartlepool hit the bar three times as Peterborough escaped from Victoria Park with as lucky a win as they are likely to get all season. Pools might have lost, but the performance gives fans and manager Chris Turner plenty of hope that Pools can stay clear of the relegation zone in League One between now and the end of the season.

It's not often a losing team is clapped off at the end of a game by home fans, but that's what happened as Pools did everything but score in a great second half performance.
In fact, they weren't bad in the first half either as they recovered from a poor start in each half to finish on top.
Peterborough scored early in both halves, and that was enough to give them their win, but in the first half Michael Nelson (right) had a great header cleared off the line and David Foley hit the bar with a header - honest, it was a header.
He was one of many players who performed well for Pools, who hit the bar twikce in the second half.
Andy Monkhouse had scored with a daft corner late in the first half, then in the second he landed another corner on top of the bar, while in added time top scorer Joel Porter, who had gone on as sub, hammered a rsising shot against the underside of the bar after Monkhouse's cross.
Posh were a good team - as they should be considering the money they have spent. The keeper, Joe Lewis, cost more than Pools have spent on new players in the last two seasons. He wasn't that good, either.
Arran Lee-Barrett didn't have much to do apart from the goals, but he was beaten by a Dean Keates free-kick for Peterborigh's early goal and seemed to react slowly when Nelson deflected a shot that allowed George Boyd to score the second.
Full-backs Antony Sweeney and Richie Humphreys did well, as did Nelson and Sam Collins between them. In midfield Ben Clark chased everything, Gary Liddle still prefers to go back rather than forward, Foley had a good game on the right and Monky shone on the left.
The drink in the sponsors' area must be good, because they voted Ben man of the match. Close, but he was runner-up - Monky was top man.
In attack Michael Mackay had a better game than v Orient, but then our lass coluld probably have done that, Keigan Parker hardly got a look-in and Porter showed what Pools had been missing when he came on.
It was a frustrating game because Pools had played well and deserved a result.
But at least it was better than the Leyton Orient defeat - having your eyes poked out with red hot needles is better than the Leyton Orient defeat.

Oops - almost forgot, the ref (David Foster, Tyne & Wear) was a shan gadgy. Why do we get refs from T&W and Co Durham? They appear to want to over-compensate for the fact that they are local and give Pools nowt. On the refs website, DF says he wants to be the best he can be. On this foirm, he's not even the best in their house.
And while we're on the subject of refs, we've seen the video now and that pen against Tranmere was DEFINITELY a pen.