James B - good game

By Charlie Summerbell
January 15 2012

It's a long way to go for a solitary point, but a goalless draw at Exeter made the 700-mile round trip easier to take for Hartlepool United as manager Neale Cooper used the journey to get to know his players better.

They responded well and were slightly the better team in a flat first half, but improved after the break and could have picked up all three points instead of just the one.

There were a number of good performances in a useful team display, the 90-minute game put in by James Brown a real bonus, but Cooper admitted he was frustrated they got only a point for their efforts.

“It was a frustrating game,” he told the club website.

“We created one or two chances and when you come to places like Exeter, you don’t get too many. When they come along, you have to bury them.

“To be fair, they has opportunities as well, so possibly the draw was a fair result.

“But we needed somebody to get their foot on the ball and make passes.

“But we kept the clean sheet we asked the lads for before the game and that’s our second in a row now, which is something to build on.”

It’s likely to be more difficult next weekend, when Pools are on the road, this time the relatively short journey to South Yorkshire to play Sheffield Wednesday, who are fourth top and 16 points head of 13^th-placed Pools in League One.

Cooper is slowly but surely getting to know his squad and his recent team selections give a fairly clear indication of the way he is thinking. Whether he will be able to strengthen the squad before the transfer window closes remains to be seen.