Pools start pre-season with Dutch defeat

Hartlepool United lost their opening pre-season friendly in their traditional summer visit to Holland, losing to the only goal of the game against Almere City in Heiloo on Tuesday night. It was a typical training game with Pools using their full squad and giving games to triallists Evan Horwood, Paul Murray and Fabian Yantorno.

James Brown wasn’t risked on the plastic pitch because of his recent history of knee injuries, while Richie Humphreys was nursing a minor injury.
Boss Chris Turner said the game was just as he had expected - a good work-out against a good team.
He told the club website that the result and performance were of secondary importance to getting the players out on the pitch and into some football action.
With three and a half weeks to go to the new season, there is still a fair amount of rustiness in the Pools players, but that is to be expected.
The fitness will come, and in the meantime Turner has decisions to make on the triallists. Horwood is allegedly wanted by Aberdeen, with one or two other clubs also sniffing round.
Pools play FC Den Bosch in their second and final game on Holland on Thursday.
 

Pools (first half): Rafferty; Haslam, Liddle, Johnson, Horwood; McSweeney, Murray; Mackay, Greulich, Behan, Bjornsson.
(Second half): Flinders; Austin, Collins, Hartley, Horwood; Larkin (Murray 83), Gamble, Yantorno, Sweeney; Boyd, Monkhouse.