By Albatross
May 7 2006

What looked inevitable with three games to go was staved off to the last game, but Pools couldn't quite pull it out of the fire and so it's going to be Hartlepool United v Accrington Stanley next season. Albatross reflects on the game and what it means for Hartlepool United. As I walked up for a quick pint in the Mill House prior to taking up station on the Mill House Terrace, a knot of tension built within me; not so much for how Pools would do, as for whether Franchise would do their bit. After all, we were certain to beat Port Vale - weren't we? As kick-off got closer the ground filled up, and so the stage was set as the players came out ready for the kickoff.

For a team that were supposed to be on all-out attack we didn't always look it though. Effectively we were playing 4-5-1, and relying on the midfielders (including Proctor operating on the right wing) to break forward in support of Porter. However in many ways it seemed to be working as for the first half Pools dominated; but, as so often this season, a combination of a lack of a final ball and a lack of a cutting edge cost us. Ideally we needed an avalanche of goals, but as the first half wore on we'd have settled for one; although the players were working hard (in particular Proctor who ran his backside off) we needed more quality to add to the effort.

The second half saw things get worse, as Port Vale started playing more and the Pools midfield basically evaporated. It was to be honest a bit like watching us in the days before Mark Tinkler arrived; when our opponents had possession they seemed able to advance to the final third with hardly a challenge, while Pools struggled to keep hold of the ball. Boyd's replacement of Bullock showed how short of games and sharpness Adam is at the moment; his first touch was a sublime throughball out to the right wing, he then jogged forward, received the ball from the cross and... put a poor shot well wide of the target. The Adam Boyd of last season would have calmly stroked it home.

The Vale goal had a certain inevitablility about it; by this point we were having to push players forward, and when we lost the ball Vale were able to advance virtually unchallenged, overloading the Pools defenders before passing the ball on to Cummins to finish. Pools had already had some narrow escapes, and even though we did finally draw level when James Brown reacted quickest to a spilled shot from Butler it was in some ways no surprise that we couldn't find a winner. Not that it would have made much difference if we had given the result at Millmoor that at least meant the much-disliked Franchise also take the drop.

Some supporters left, some stayed for the lap of honour; hands were shaken, boots passed into the crowd, will some of these players ever be seen in a Pools shirt again? As I left the ground I reflected that I wasn't depressed particularly, I wasn't despairing, I was annoyed. The transition from possible Division 1 team to Division 3 certainties has taken just 12 short months; it's back to square one again and the best hope we've ever had to persuade the public of Hartlepool to follow their home-town club has been squandered.

See you next season? I may not be writing on this site, but I'll still be there; I'll hope to see many of you around the grounds. It's just a crying shame that instead of Oldham, Bradford and Tranmere - or even Burnley, Leeds and Birmingham - it'll be at Accrington, Macclesfield and Rochdale. Nevertheless, I'll still be there - and always a Poolie.