By Albatross
May 2 2003

"A little less conversation, a little more action" - and at 3pm on Saturday Afternoon, the action will start in earnest. 90 Minutes to decide whether Hartlepool United or Rushden and Diamonds will claim the Third Division trophy: one last twist in the tail? So here it is. The game we've all been waiting for - the game that for so long looked like it might be the title decider, and has turned out to be after both sides have passed up opportunities to make it secure. The particiapants are Hartlepool United and Rushden and Diamonds: and it's winner takes all at Nene Park.

Every ticket is sold out, and the atmosphere should be something to behold, with 1700 Poolies no doubt playing their full part. Pools go into the game knowing that they could finish in any of the top three positions, but when it comes down to it only one of them matters to us now: first place or bust. Promotion is secure, there's no need to hold anything back for playoffs this time, and 100% commitment is expected, demanded by the fans.

There's no doubt though that Rushden represent a tough challenge. For almost the whole season, they have been the only team to be seriously challenging us for top spot, and were the last team to beat us at the Vic when they won 2-1 back in September. So let's have a look at them in more detail.

R+D's home record is currently the second best in the division. Only ours is better, and then only because we have completed our home fixtures. 16 Wins and just two defeats - against Bury and Oxford - is not to be sneezed at, and in fact is the same as Pools.

Talbot has said he's not going to change their system for the game, and it's not hard to see why. Their 3-5-2 system has seen them go 10 games undefeated, with 7 wins in that run, and if he's done his research then he'll know that Pools have sometimes suffered against that formation as well.

Leading scorer this term - as he was excepted to be - is Jamaican International Onandi Lowe. His 16 goals see him just one ahead of his fellow Jamaican Paul Hall: Hall looked devestating against Pools at the Vic, his pace and skill down the right flank caused us no end of trouble. He's obviously kept this going for the whole season, as he was picked in the PFA Divisional Team, and played for Jamaica against South Africa this week. Pools will be hoping that he is still tired from his exertions. Lowe meanwhile has missed several matches recently after returning to Jamaica for personal reasons, and was only on the bench against Orient as Brian Talbot instead went for a strikeforce of 14-goal Duane Darby and the recently-signed Dean Holdsworth. No matter what way you look at it, Diamonds have plenty of firepower.

Defensively they've been pretty solid as well, with the likes of Barry Hunter and Paul Underwood (the latter also making the PFA team) regulars. Add in Billy Turley in goal, who is a pretty solid keeper, and you realise that this is not going to be easy.

For Pools, the main injury concern remains Tommy Widdrington. He missed the game against Shrewsbury after limping off against Rochdale, and hasn't trained fully this week; he's due to have a fitness test today (Friday) to see if he's up to taking part in the game. If he fails to recover, the question for Mike Newell is who to play in midfield: he experimented with Ritchie Humphreys on the right against Shrewsbury, and it worked to a degree - but against a much stiffer challenge, he may decide to revert to playing Humphreys in the middle and Clarke out wide.

Up front, the pairing most Poolies want to see is Williams and Watson. Both showed why last weekend: Eifion's pace and finishing ability was well complemented by Watson's strength, vision and determination. Newell has made it clear though that he likes Henderson, and with Hendo scoring the third against the Shrews - albeit set up by Flash - you wouldn't put it past Newell to start him. If he does though he's taking a big risk: if it works then he's a tactical genius, if it doesn't then there will be a lot of unhappy fans about.

Talking of tactical genius, the other question to ask is that of formation. Newell has played 4-4-2 almost exclusively since arriving, and against sides that know how to play 3-5-2 well - most notably Wrexham - we have struggled to cope. We haven't won away since beating a poor Macclesfield side in January: and some fans (me included) would like to see us being a bit more flexible. The players are no strangers to a back three, having played it often away under Turner, and I'd like to see us at least use that as a backup plan: start 4-4-2 by all means, but look to switch if we're getting over-run in the middle. Barron can easily switch into the centre, Clarke has played Wingback this season (if somewhat ineffectively), and we can then go man for man with their midfield.

Normally at this point, I'd start talking predictions. For this game though, I won't. I can't. It's a one-off game, a cup final, and with everything to play for, form matters little. Rushden are rightly favourites for the title at 4/11 with William Hill: after all, they just have to avoid defeat at their own ground. But Pools should be riding high on a wave of emotion after the scenes at the Vic last week, after having the opportunity to win the championship unexpectedly put back into our own hands.

One team will be lifting the Third Division Trophy after the game: the other will at least have the consolation of knowing they came within an ace of taking it themselves, and have secured promotion. Both will have something to celebrate. If I ask one thing, it's that the players representing Hartlepool United do themselves justice: that they play to the very limits of their abilities and their endurance, and win, lose or draw know that there was absolutely nothing extra they could have given in pursuit of their goal. Do that, and every Poolie, whether at Nene Park, back in the North-East, or spread all over the country and the World, will have every reason to be proud of what this team has achieved.