Another bore draw for punchless Pools

Neale Cooper isn't the first Hartlepool Unietd manager to be troublked by the team's inabiliuty to take chances - it's been going on for years. But he is determined to sort it out sooner or later.

After the second goalless bore draw on the bounce, Cooper admitted his team is not clinical enough in front of goal, but he hopes to be able to add fore power to his squad for next season.

Pools were held at home by Stevenage a week after doing exactly the same to Walsall on their ground, and Cooper told the club website: We put some realty good moves together, but we need to be more clinical. We need to score more goals.

“That outs more pressure on the back four, who were immense again today – Scott Flinders only had one shot to save.

“But we really need to start punishing teams, we have to work the keeper more and I have told the players that overall we have to do better in front of goal.”

With Sam Collins back sooner than expected from the injury that forced him out of the Walsall game in the warm-up, Pools could have nicked a win. But so could Stevenage.

Cooper’s men have another chance to put things right on Tuesday night, when Oldham visit the Vic hoping to bounce back after their 3-2 derby defeat at Rochdale on Saturday.

With three draws and a defeat – and only one goals scored - in their last four games, Pools could do with a pick-me-up themselves.