Hartley celebrates

By Charlie Summerbell
August 21 2011

They did it too often last season, and they are doing it again this season ... Hartlepool United just can't hold on to a lead away from home, and already in 2011-12 it's cost them four points.    

A last-minute goal cost them a 2-1 win at MK Dons on the first day of the season, and the same thing happened at Stevenage on Saturday, the only difference being that this time there were two minutes left.

Yes, Pools are hard hit by injuries, but there’s no excuse for throwing games away like this … they had done well to get themselves in a match-winning position by half-time, then spent the second half giving boss Mick Wadsworth and the travelling fans a headache before finally collapsing.

Peter Hartley’s header and Adam Boyd’s penalty after Colin Nish was fouled gave Pools the comfortable lead, but after Nish wastd a great chance for a third, the home team fought back.

Byron Harrison narrowed the gap from close-in and full-back Scott Laird, who had got away with an elbow on James Poole a few minutes earlier, header in the late equalizer.

“We won it and then we threw it away,” Wadsworth told the club website.

“We had done excellently in the first half, and at 2-0 we didn’t really feel there was any danger for us.

“But we gifted them with the first goal and after that our game management was poor.

“Yes were are unbeaten, but at 2-0 up, with the players we have, we should be closing out the game.”

Pools are in the sort of mid-table position they were in for most of last season, but having thrown away four late points in their only two away games so far it doesn’t take a mathematical genius to work out where they should be … fifth top with eight points.

They have a week now to sort themselves out before their next league One game, at Rochdale. Wadsworth willprobably have a few harsh words to say in training this week.