Report: Tranmere Rovers 0 Hartlepool United 0

By Albatross
January 17 2004

It was a game of two halves at Prenton Park - the first dull, the second mostly going Pools way. However the score in both was the same, and it finished how it started - Tranmere Rovers 0 Hartlepool United 0.

Cooper opted for the same starting eleven as last week against Peterborough, but there were changes on the bench; new signing Scott Walker came in, as did Tony Sweeney; meanwhile there was no striker on the bench, as Clarke, Konstantopoulos and Istead retained their spots.

Pools kicked off defending the wonderfully named Cowshed stand where we were sitting, and won a throw in on the left early on that Ritchie Humphreys took - only for the ball to be well cleared. Tranmere were next to show, with Hume trying to beat Nelson before getting a shot away that Provett saved - but the whistle had already gone as the Tranmere forward hadn't been able to get past Nelse without fouling him.

Eifion Williams tried a long range effort on 3 minutes, his shot though was deflected away for a Pools corner on the left. Strachan's ball in was cleared to Ritchie, who played it back wide for Strachan to lift into the box again; Achterberg grabbed the ball at the second attempt under pressuer from Westwood.

Dadi was putting himself about up front, marked mainly by Nelson, and after a long range effort from Porter went well wide the French striker caused Pools a few problems, A cross came in from the Tranmere left, and Dadi cushioned a header back for Navarro, who shot wide when he should have done much better. A Taylor cross a couple of minutes later gave Dadi another opportunity to cause trouble, but the ball was eventually cleared without the striker getting a real opportunity.

Pools almost stole a goal on 15 minutes with a well-worked free kick. Porter had been fouled on the right, and Strachan was the man to take it; Nelson made a late move into the box that wasn't picked up, giving him a free header from Strachan's delivery that he sent just wide of the far post.

Robson had to be on his toes on 17 minutes, eventually doing well to put the ball out for a corner ahead of a lurking Tranmere forward; when the kick came in, the flick from the near post was cleared, came back in, and was headed well over the bar by Jones.

Dadi was spoken to by the ref on 18 minutes aftre a clash with Nelson that left the Pools player needing some attention. It's fair to say that Dadi's style was somewhat robust - although he wasn't swinging the elbow as such he was certainly jumping with arms raised - and his aerial prowess seemed to be causing Pools one or two problems.

Harrison was the next to try his luck though, with a back header as the ball came into the box; however, Provett took it without any trouble.

Another free kick for Pools resulted in an opportunity for Tinkler; Strachan's ball in saw Pools win the first header, only for Tinks to plant his header wide of the post. Another foul on Porter saw Pools win another free kick in prime Strachan range; his shot on goal from 20 yards was a yard wide of the near post.

The ref seemed keener to hand out a talking to rather than a card, and Barron was the next to have a discussion with the ref after a foul on Hume; the free kick; taken from level with the penalty spot on the left touchline, was too far, leaving Jones to try and keep the ball in and create something only for Westwood to clear for a throw in that was taken long but again too far, leaving Dadi unable to keep the ball in play.

Tranmere were struggling to find a way through the Pools defence, and a free kick on 37 minutes saw a chance for Hume - who promptly put his 20 yard powerful effort wide of the goal.

On 40 minutes it looked for a time like "Chewy" Konstantopoulos might be called upon. Provett, Westwood and Tranmere's Taylor all went for the ball near the edge of the six yard box and the by-line: Provett made it first and colelcted the ball, followed almost instantaneously by Taylor's studs. Plenty of Poolies were calling the ref all the names under the sun when he didn't give a foul or book Taylor - but Westie's reaction, a sort of "no hard feelings" pat on the back seemed to indicate a lack of intent. Provett was able to continue after treatment, the drop ball being played behind for a goal kick.

With added time being played, Dadi became the first player into the Ref's notebook; a foul given when jumping against Nelson proved to be the final straw for Mark Cowburn, who showed yellow to the Tranmere player after making it clear that this was one foul challenge too many.

The first half had been a somewhat dour affair, with few clear chances for either side, but with stoppage time almost up Pools produced the best move of the half; a flowing move down the left that saw the ball worked across and into the path of none other than Mickey Barron; the Pools skipper took aim from 20 yards out, and Achterberg had to make a fine save. Williams got to the loose ball but sent his shot over the bar.

The second half proved to be amuch better spectacle than the first. Pools came out with a positive look about them, and some good work from Porter created a shooting opportunity for the Aussie that was blocked. Tranmere pumped a long ball in the direction of Dadi, but Westwood did well to sneak in ahead of him.

A good break from Porter followed on 48 minutes, he passed the ball on to Shuker, who then played it towards Eifion; Eifion got the ball back across in the area for Porter, who twisted and turned but couldn't get a clear shot and lost the ball. More good play on the left saw Pools sent Tinkler away clear, but Achterberg got out quickly to clear the ball away from the Pools midfielder.

A corner from the right provided Pools with their next chance when it was cleared to Shuker; he sent a good shot in from 20 yards that was just wide of the far post. Shortly after, Porter latched onto a throughball on the right, he crossed for Ritchie Humphreys, whose shot headed towards an offside Eifion Williams at the near post.

Two minutes later some more good play saw a crossfield ball for Shuker; however, he couldn't quite get on the end of it and although Eifion could he was in an offside position.

If this sounds like it had been all Pools, that's because it had been; in an effort to change this state of affairs Tranmere made a couple of substitutions, Sharps and Navarro being replaced by Connelly and Beresford. Dadi then tried an outrageous dive that scored 0.0 from Poolies and Ref alike. Tranmere it seemed were running out of ideas.

Roberts was next to be booked, as he tried to prevent Pools taking a quick throw on the right. Pools then opted for a Humphreys long throw that was cleared to Matty Robson; the youngster's 25 yard effort crashed against the inside of the post and away with Achterberg beaten.

Cooper then made the first change of the afternoon for Pools, Porter (who I thought had looked impressive) going off to be replaced by Steven Istead. Istead took up a centre forward role entirely out of keeping with his stature! A long throw into the box that was cleared gave Tinkler the chance to have a dip - but his weak effort was easily held above his head by Achterberg.

Some good play down the right from Barron and Shuker saw Pools win a corner on 69 minutes that was cleared at the near post. Then some great play on the wing from Istead, who had pulled out wide, saw him beat one man, get into the box and then cut the ball back across for the Tranmere defence to clear, while Nelson seethed after he'd been screaming for the ball on the edge of the area. The resulting long throw made it to Eifion Williams, but he was tightly marked and saw his shot blocked.

Dadi was seeing less of the ball and being well marked by Nelson, to the extent that on 72 minutes he was replaced by Alex Hay. Pools were still in the ascendancy though, and some good play from Istead saw him put Shuker through on the right of the area only for his shot to be blocked.

Shuker seemd to be through again on 80 minutes, but he seemed to have gone just too far; however, with Achterberg looking set to fall on the ball a Tranmere defender touched it too him. The unfortunate Keeper then had to battle with Eifion Williams who came in to challenge, the ball eventually being cleared for a throw following a brief tussle. The throw saw Eifion's shot blocked away for a corner, which came across to Istead at the back post; the young winger put his shot over the bar.

Some good play from Robson and Shuker won pools another corner on 81 minutes; however, Achterberg took the ball well and cleared quickly upfield for Ian Hume to chase. With Barron beaten for pace, he resorted to fouling the Tranmere player, and if not for Westwood covering to make sure he wasn't last man would probably have seen red. As it was, the Pools skipper picked up a deserved caution. He did redeem himself though, clearing Taylor's dangerous free kick

Tranmere had suddenly come to life, and a good run and shot from Hume on 83 minutes needed Provett to make a save; and the home side began to try and press a bit, although the final ball was lacking and they were struggling to threaten the Pools goal as a result. Their next real opportunity came on 88 minutes; a Pools attack broke down when Humphreys seemed to let the ball go without a challenge 30 yards out, and the quick breakaway saw Hay shoot from close range only to see Provett smother his shot. Hume was resorting to desperate measures, resorting to a blatant dive that had the Tranmere fans shouting but nobody else!

Pools brought on Clarke for Strachan with added time about to start, but Pools simply couldn't find a way through. A long throw from the right by Ritchie made it's way to Istead, who tried to lift the ball back in - only for the flag to go up for offside. Pools last chance of the game came shortly after; a good move from Robson down the right saw the ball come across to Shuker on the right of the box, he played the ball to Tinkler, but the ball was cleared and the ref blew for full time.

I had an inkling that this might finish 0-0, and at half time I was sure of it; neither side seemed able to create much in the way of clear chances, and it had to be honest been a dull game. However, Pools came to life after the break - partly because Shuker started seeing more of the ball and Porter was especially effective - and dominated for long periods. As a result this feels a bit more like two points lost rather than one gained - Tranmere were there for the taking, rarely looked able to trouble Provett until the last few minutes. However, credit to Tranmere's defence - every time a Pools playter got the ball in the box there seemed to be a white shirt there to get in the way of any shot before it got anywhere, and the close marking of our forwards meant that the best opportunity looked like a break from the midfield. Shuker looked great, but Ritchie didn't - again he dropped inside far too much for my liking, struggled to beat his man, and his main contribution came through his long throws. Porter was impressive, but when he came off we didn't have another forward to replace him; Istead showed well in flashes, but usually when receiving the ball out wide. We could have done with a Wilkinson or maybe even Robinson on the bench today.

Things continue to look good for Pools though; our point means we are in 8th place, behind Brighton on Goal Difference, and with a match in hand over Swindon who are just two points ahead of us. With Provett signing a new deal to boot, things still look to be on the up for Pools.