Hartlepool United aim to give Orient Brush-off

By Albatross
April 11 2003

OK, so it's a poor pun but who cares! Hartlepool United face Leyton Orient at the Vic knowing that a win could be enough for promotion, and is needed to keep us ahead of Rushden. It's a game we're well capable of winning - but how often have we thought that recently?

Orient haven't had the best of seasons, and currently sit in 17th place - five places and six points above the relegation slots. Although they are in theory in danger still, they are probably safe in practice and should be one of the few teams to have little to play for in the last few games.

Current form is not great. Last Saturday's 3-2 win over Boston ended a run of four straight defeats that included losses to Bristol Rovers and away at Macclesfield; and their away record is amongst the worst in the division. Having said that, they have managed wins at Bury and Oxford in the last couple of months.

Their main problem is goals. Just 43 have been scored in 40 league games. Great things were expected of Lee Thorpe when he arrived from Lincoln in the summer; and although he is the leading scorer, nine goals is not a great return. Beyond that, Jabo Ibehre has six, and defender and regular penalty taker Matt Lockwood has five. Paul Brush is coming under increasing pressure with the Os certain to finish well into the bottom half for a second successive season. He tried to pep things up by bringing in Gary Alexander from Hull; but even that has made little difference, with the powerfully-built front man failing to hit the net in 11 appearances so far. Some relief did come last weekend as Wayne Purser - a deadline day signing from Barnet - scored a hat-trick on his Orient debut. He celebrates his 23rd Birthday on Sunday - but Pools will be hoping to make sure it's not with more goals under his belt.

As well as Purser, Greg Heald arrived from Barnet to make his debut last week; the experienced defender found himself alongside another debutant, the on-loan Michael Turner from Charlton. Boston took advantage of the new partnership, and Pools will be hoping that their understanding is still somewhat shaky.

The Brisbane Road side have suffered somewhat through injuries recently. Thorpe has been struggling with a hamstring injury but should be fit to take some part in the game; Ibehre and Justin Miller are certain to miss out though, with Miller recovering from calf and achilles problems and Ibehre suffering from a groin injury.

For Pools, there are more issues than normal in terms of who plays where. Arnison filled in for the injured Mickey Barron last week, but the Club Captain is back in training and will have a late fitness test. In the midfield, there may not be changes - but Humphreys has looked less effective in the middle and the temptation for Newell to move him out wide may prove irresistable. But it's up front that will cause the Pools boss most headaches. Eifion Williams finally hit the net after coming on as a sub last week, and if his confidence is back then you'd have to say he should start; the question is, who with? Flash has been less than impressive on his return and still seems to be struggling for match fitness; another 90 minutes in the reserves may have helped, but he may find himself back on the bench. Marcus Richardson and Adam Boyd both played in that game as well, indicaing we may be seeing a partnership of Henderson and Williams up front.

Hendo didn't have a great game last week, and has rarely featured this season; he's tended to look at his best when coming on as a late sub. Whether you agree with it or not, he's possibly favourite to start.

For all that our recent form is poor, we still haven't been beaten at home since September; and Orient's away form is poor too. This should be a Pools win. I'm going for Pools to help me celebrate my 30th Birthday with a comfortable (and appropriate!) 3-0 victory, with Eifion to grab a brace and Humphreys to score the other.