Preview: Bournemouth v Hartlepool United

By Albatross
May 6 2005

You could hardly say our preparations have been ideal, but Hartlepool United travel to Bournemouth knowing that the destiny of our entire season rests on this one game. Can Martin Scott's players pull the result we need out of the bag?

It's not quite "Winner Takes All" as Pools will get through if they manage a draw; but realistically trying to play for a stalemate against a side guaranteed to be gunning for a win is unlikely to be successful. The positive news for Pools is that Bournemouth have hardly made Dean Court a fortress in recent weeks...

In fact, for the last couple of months our opponents have had to rely on their away form to keep them in the playoff race. Their last home win came on 22nd February against Torquay, and was followed a few days later by a creditable draw with Tranmere - but since then the wheels have fallen off at home. Blackpool, Hull, MK Franchise, Luton and most recently Peterborough have all walked away with wins, and had they not simultaneously swept all before them on their travels - six straight wins before last weekend's loss at Bradford - they'd already be dead and buried as far as the playoffs go.

Earlier in the season they showed the dangers they posed when coming very close to beating us at the Vic; 2-1 up at the break, it took an equaliser from Nelson with just two minutes left and then a controversial end to the game to see Pools secure victory. For those that don't remember, Appleby got the ball in the net only for the Ref to instead blow up for a penalty, which Boyd promptly missed; Pools were then awarded a free kick on the edge of the area that Strachan, who had hit the net from one against them the previous season, shaped to hit - only to slide it to Appleby who, with two men on the line, was lurking onside close to goal and finished with the last kick of the game. Many of the travelling fans were unhappy with the Ref, claiming that the free kick shouldn't have been given; many Pools fans considered though that things had evened out after he had disallowed the goal from Appleby in the first place but failed to send off the Cherries Keeper for the offence.

One player not on the pitch for that game was Steve Fletcher. The former Pools player (although you need a long memory to recall seeing him play for us) has been on the South Coast for almost 13 years now, and despite injury troubles in recent seasons has managed to break the record for their number of league appearances. The big striker in fact broke it with his appearance at Bradford last week, and the occasion will be marked by the home side before the kick-off.

Fletcher has scored nine times in the league this season, but it's his likely partner that's the leading scorer for our opponents. James Hayter has managed 17 this season, and the Pools defence will need to watch him and Fletcher carefully; much may depend on how well Nelson copes with Big Fletch, and this could well be a key battle in how the match goes.

As far as team news for the home side goes, Garreth O'Conner, with 13 League goals from midfield, is back in training after missing the last two games - but looks unlikely to be risked from the start at least.

The state of mind of the Pools players can only be guessed at - but one big plus is that Martin Scott is perfectly placed to step into the breach. He knows the players and what they're capable of; and he knows that getting Pools into the playoffs would make the case for him getting the job he wants permanently even stronger. Will Scott spring any surprises in terms of the team selection? I doubt he'll try a radical shift at this point, but we may see something of a reshuffle. I wouldn't be surprised to see Robertson starting at left back, and Clark on the right; and hopefully Joel Porter will be fit to resume alongside Boyd up front. Another option is that Mickey Barron may come in from the cold to play on the right - and don't be surprised to see the Club Captain at least make the bench.

This was already a big game for Pools, and in the eyes of many fans it's now even bigger following the events of this week. The performance as much as the result is what we're looking for - were the last two poor performances to do with problems with Cooper, or is there something more deep seated? Defeat for Pools, and particularly if we once again underperform, and a lot of searching questions will be directed at the club; win, and it could be "Neale who?" Our opponents will not lack for motivation either, and will be determined to claim that top six spot at our expense.

This is the sort of game that I absolutely hate predicting. Effectively it's a one off cup tie, and the only real advantage for Pools is that a draw is enough for us. It may well be a very tense, nervous game with neither side wanting to make mistakes. I think there will be goals, but not that many of them; and possibly with hope triumphing over experience I'll go for Pools to draw 1-1. Boyd to score early on, and then Bournemouth to bombard us for the rest of the game but only grab an equaliser late on. Final game of the season? This contest could well go to the final minute!