Monkhouse the main man for Pools

Tenth place in League One …. think what it could have been with just a touch of consistency, with just a little bit better finishing, with a bit more power at home, or even if Andy Monkhouse played up front more often. His four goals in three games have earned Hartlepool United six points and taken them to a position of comparative comfort.

Two more in an easy win over Brentford at Victoria Park gave Pools three good points and set him up for a race to catch top scorer Antony Sweeney – t his current pace, he might do it by Easter.
Monkhouse gave Pools the lead with just over half an hour gone, a goal awarded by the linesman after his shot hit the underside of the bar and bounced down over the line.
After their difficult midweek game against Huddersfield, Pools always looked comfortable in this one, and the win was in the bag ten minutes into the second half when the chance was created by Sweeney’s run into the box.
Pools keeper Scott Flinders had one save to make before Pools got their third near the end, Gary Liddle hammering in a beauty after good work by Colin Larkin and Leon McSweeney.
It was a good performance by Pools as Monkhouse took his tally to five in six games and Liddle grabbed his sixth of the season.
Boss Mick Wadsworth told the club website: “We are at the stage of the season where we are desperate to get 50 points, then see where we can go from there.
“I told the players that we can take nine of the next 12 points then it will make things interesting, and that’s three points on the board already.
“It was a solid performance – we never really looked in trouble because our centre-backs and full-backs were very strong.
“Andy’s had a tough season in some ways, but he’s amongst the goals now and good on him. If he can continue playing like this until the end of the season, it will be fantastic.”
The other three games in that four-match 12-point target for Wadsworth are Carlisle away on Tuesday night, then home to Plymouth and Leyton Orient next weekend and the following Tuesday.
With his team just three points short of that 50-point safety target and Monkhouse in such form, there’s every reason to go into the last dozen games of the season full of hope.