Darlington v Hartlepool United - Match Preview

By Albatross
February 28 2003

Hartlepool United travel to Feethams for the last time, and we've probably never gone there so far ahead of the Loids. Pools will be looking to leave on a high note, but this is a game that Darlington will be fired up for - won't it?

Last year was supposed to have been the last derby at Feethams, but this time round it will be: even if there are further delays to their new stadium, it looks highly unlikely Pools and the Loids will be in the same division next season.

So what can we expect? Well, under Tait Darlo have followed a familiar pattern: they are drawing too many games, and are struggling to bring in forwards. This meant that when Barry Conlon was suspended last weekend, Tait had to push Matt Clarke up front as a lone striker. Although Clarke did start out as a forward, he was hardly a great success there....

Conlon will be back up front and will no doubt provide Darlo's main threat in attack. He's scored 12 goals this season - including two Cup goals - and despite what you may think about his approach to the game, he's an awkward customer to handle. Whether Tait will play someone alongside him or simply try and pack the midfield remains to be seen; his options are pretty limited, with Clarke and Ian Clark the main options. It's more likely to be the Ginger Ginola, as the Loids have Stuart Whitehead struggling with injury and so Clarke is more likely to find himself at the back. Meanwhile, Clark has notched eight times this season, and will no doubt be looking for another goal against his former team-mates. Another possible option is Danny Mellanby, who is now fit again and likely to be on the bench if not in the team.

Darlo's form is, in a word, poor. Their last league win came on 18th January at home to Kiddy, and since then they have played six games, drawing three. One of those was against Rushden, but their last home game saw an awful game and a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Rochdale. In fact, they have won just one out of their last eleven games, and their record for the last ten in W1 D6 L3. So while they may be fairly tough to beat, they are also not winning many games. Although not in immediate danger of joining the relegation struggle, they are not too far above it in 17th

As well as issues with who to play in attack, Tait also has problems elsewhere. As previously mentioned, Whitehead is doubtful; and in midfield, so is Clark Keltie, who missed last week's game at Wrexham through injury. With Mark Ford going on loan to Leigh RMI, Neil Maddison has found himself back in the first team picture and has started the last two games - much to the surprise of some Darlo fans after a well-publicised statement of unhappiness from the former Middlesbrough player.

Tait has been saying in the press this week that he believes that Darlo can match Pools player for player, but this is being treated with almost as much contempt by Loids as Poolies. While there is no denying that Darlo do have some decent players - Nicholls has impressed in Midfield as well as Conlon up front for example - they are missing in several vital areas and are short of cover in others. The form of players like Neil Wainwright has been disappointing this season, while Craig Liddle is not looking the player he once was and Andy Collett has missed a number of games causing a string of loan Keepers to join the club. Collett is now fit though, and anyone at Feethams a couple of years ago will remember the outstanding performance he produced to keep Pools at bay for almost the whole game and earn his side a draw.

Pools continue to be remarkably free of injury worries, with Gordon Watson pretty much the only player not in contention. Flash is reportedly still not happy with his ankle despite a clear scan this week. It looks likely to be the same side that stuck four past Swansea last week, although Newell will be looking for his strikers to be less wasteful than in that game.

On paper, this game looks a likely win for Pools, with even some Darlo fans predicting a Poolie victory. Of course though, football isn't played on paper, and the Darlo players should be fired up for this game - if only to try and make amends after their poor display at the Vic. I predicted a tight game last week and was proved very wrong, but surely this will be a closer contest than last time. I'd be happy for a scrambled 1-0 win, but think that we'll end up settling for a 1-1 draw, Boyd to score as Darlo stage a determined rearguard action.

Now why not check out the Loids point of view on DFC Online - our sister-site on Sport Network?