Missed chances cost Pools away victory

If I had a quid for every time I’ve said over the years that Hartlepool United would have won if they could have taken their chances, I’d be a rich man.  They did it again at Bristol Rovers in midweek, easily the better team for the whole 90 minutes, but forced to settle for a point against a side without a win in 11 games.

The list of missed chances and wasted possession is far too long to repeat, but there were enough there to win two games, let alone one.
But boss Mick Wadsworth (right) wasn’t too downhearted – after all, the result at least put a stop to his team’s run of three defeats on the trot.
He told the Northern Echo: “All we just needed was that goal,’’ said Wadsworth. “Any critical point I may have was the last pass, we didn’t work the keeper too much. But I won’t take anything from the players for a super performance.
“I was as happy with that as I was for some of our away wins. The performance really pleased me and I said that to the players afterwards.’’
“A goal for us was only going to come from a set play, but I never felt in any danger, second half especially,’’
“I’m a performance coach, results for me come with performances and after the last few games that was a good response to get us back on track.
Big striker Armann Bjornsson again played in the middle of the defence, with skipper Sam Collins on the bench after his knee injury.
Wadsworth was pleased with Bjornsson, but he’ll be delighted that Collins is expected back for the weekend visit to Peterborough, where they can expect a much tougher test.
Posh have re-appointed Darren Ferguson as manager and are three points ahead of Pools in fifth place.
If Pools had beaten Dagenham at the Vic last weekend, they would be going to London Road level with the home team playing for the right to establish themselves in the play-off zone.
Pools have now played three more games away than at home – if they can get their home form sorted out when they start playing their games in hand, such a lofty position could become a real possibility instead of just a dream.