Pools improve impressive away record with great win

Now THAT is what you call an away win. A picture goal, a lot of hard work and some never-say-due defending earned Hartlepool United their fourth away win of the season, their sixth clean sheet on the road, 12th place in League One and the perfect start to the mid-season burst of activity over Christmas and the New Year.

Own celebrated his return to the team with a stunning strike from outside the area on the half-hour, minutes after hitting the home bar with a similar effort, and the team as a whole and the defence in particular sweated blood to hold the lead.
It was the perfect party-pooping performance as Pools grabbed victory on the day Bournemouth celebrated a centenary at Dean Court.
No wonder boss Mick Wadsworth (we’re fed up of all this caretaker, stand-in, acting stuff now) was delighted.
He admitted to the club website: “We really had to earn that.
“The players showed total determination to hang on to the lead and not give anything away. We looked a bit rusty at the start, and I’m not surprised – we haven’t kicked a ball further than 30 yards for two weeks because of where we have had to train.
“But we got to grips with it and played some really good counter-attacking football. Everyone in the squad is important to us and I feel more comfortable to change the team now, and it’s working for us.”
It certainly is and while former boss Chris Turner’s critics have been multiplying since he left the club just after the start of the season, he deserves credit for one thing above all others – he brought Mick Wadsworth to the club.
With a squad many people felt was not up to the task, he has forged a team with one of the best away records in the League and an improving home record.
Brown’s goal on 31 minutes was a long-range curler he is always capable of producing, and as Wadsworth admitted Pools had to work hard to hold the lead. They also got a lucky break when keeper Jake Kean was shown only yellow when he over-reacted to a bad challenge from Harry Arter.
A happy band of 127 Pools fans made the long trip to the south coast.
What a day for them, and what a day for Pools.
Hopefully the thaw will continue so they can play their twice-postponed FA Cup second round tie against Yeovil at the Vic on Tuesday.