00:00The Hartlepool Mail's Robbie Stelling here with some thoughts following Hartlepool United's 1-1 draw with Southend United on Bank Holiday Monday.
00:09I think the first thing a lot of Pools fans, particularly those who made the long trip to Essex, will be doing in the immediate aftermath of what was a really hard-for contest is breathing a big sigh of relief.
00:20Of course, Pools have had some well-documented struggles over the August Bank Holiday weekend, forfeiting two goal leads in each of the last two years,
00:28while suffering a string of serious injuries that has derailed initial progress.
00:33Thankfully, it looks as though Simon Grayson's side have got through what is a really challenging weekend relatively unscathed.
00:40It's a contentious weekend in the National League. Teams are asked to play two matches within 72 hours of one another,
00:46and each manager approaches it differently. Rochdale's Jimmy McNulty cops some flack when he made 11 changes to his Dale side for their trip to Brackley Town on Saturday.
00:55That second string Dale outfit was subsequently beaten 2-1, and McNulty was heavily criticised for his decision to make wholesale changes.
01:03Grayson typically adopted a more pragmatic approach, making two changes for the long trip to Roots Hall.
01:11Tom Parks, the captain, returned to the heart of the defence, while Jack Hunter was handed his first start in the engine room.
01:18Danny Johnson, without a goal in any of his first four Pools starts, dropped to the bench, as did Matty Dainley, who impressed on Saturday, but is still having his minutes carefully managed.
01:28Pools made the worst possible start when the returning skipper skewed a threatening cross by the very impressive Harry Boyes into his own net inside two minutes.
01:37In truth, Pools never really got to grips with the Shrimpers in the opening period.
01:42Pools opted for a back three, which has served them really well in the opening weeks of the season.
01:47However, Grayson made a number of tweaks to accommodate Parks' return.
01:52Maxime Coogan moved to the right of the back three, having operated in the centre in the last couple of weeks,
01:57while Reece McNally, who's been really impressive as part of that back three, moved to right wing back,
02:02where he didn't look particularly comfortable at all, it has to be said.
02:06Pools had Harvey Cartwright to thank for keeping them in the game, as well as some questionable Southend finishing.
02:12The visitors did have one chance in the opening period, when Jermaine Francis capitalised on a rare moment of indecision in the home side.
02:19Backline squared for Alex Reid, but the sprawling Ben Goodliff made a superb last-ditch intervention
02:24to prevent the frontman from scoring for the fourth time in as many games.
02:29Pools were much better after the break.
02:32Simon Grayson made a number of changes.
02:34In fact, he made changes earlier than that, in that Pools went to a back four midway through the first half.
02:38But he made two changes in personnel at the break, with Luke Charman, who was really impressive in the second half,
02:43and Matty Daly, both entering the fray.
02:47Southend continued to have chances, and Cartwright again came to the rescue on the hour,
02:51and he made two superb saves from the tireless Charlie Kendall,
02:55who did pretty much everything other than score in quick succession.
02:59Pools responded and drew a level through Nathan Sheeran, who scored his second Pools goal,
03:04albeit it was a little bit fortunate, deflected through a crowd of bodies,
03:08and wrong-footed the unfortunate Colin Andang Ndi.
03:11Both sides had chances to win it late on Sam Folleran, making a rare appearance under Simon Grayson,
03:16forced a sharp save from Andang Ndi late on Southend Press,
03:21but rather ran out of steam after a string of changes made by Kevin Mayer.
03:25Both sides remain unbeaten. For Pools, it's been an almost perfect start.
03:29Three wins and two draws, unbeaten after five games and a number of really impressive performances.
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