On the latest episode of the Poolie podcast, Rich Mennear and the Hartlepool Mail’s Hartlepool United writer Robbie Stelling analyse Hartlepool's defeat to Gainsborough Trinity in the FA Cup.
00:03I think sometimes you hope and expect that there's going to be a reaction of sorts.
00:09Obviously, Pools only had one training session in between that Saturday game
00:12when they were lucky, really, to get a replay out of it and Tuesday night's match.
00:19But I think that the lack of desire, the lack of purpose, the lack of fight was hugely concerning.
00:29Obviously, you're not going to be able to get loads of tactical ideas across in one training session.
00:35But what you can do, I think, is try and grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
00:40And almost from the first minute, Pools had a reasonably bright start.
00:43But they significantly failed to do that.
00:45Now, I would say that Gaines brought two divisions below them more than 40 places below them in the pyramid as well.
00:52But they are a really, really good side.
00:54I think Russ Wilcox is a good manager.
00:56They had some really good players.
00:59But I think what it all came down to is Gainesville wanted it more than Pools.
01:04And it wasn't just a slight margin.
01:06I mean, they were better in every single department.
01:09They outfought Pools, but they also outplayed them.
01:11I couldn't really understand what Pools were trying to do.
01:15They dominated the ball, particularly in the first half.
01:18But as we've said a lot this season, they were so passive with their passing.
01:22Too many players at the minute in the Pools side are content to do the easy thing.
01:28When they get the ball, they don't really look to try and unlock a defence hardly ever.
01:33They've got some really capable footballers.
01:36You look at the players that started on Tuesday night, Matty Daly and Brad Walker in that midfield.
01:41They've both come from being fairly regular in football league sides.
01:48But they get the ball and they're not trying to make things happen when they should be.
01:52To be honest, I never really felt like Pools were going to get anything from the game.
01:57I mean, the first goal was crazy.
02:00The amount that Pools were prepared to back off and back off.
02:04Games were scored three really good goals in the end, but they all came out of needless errors from Pools, giving away a careless free kick on the edge of their own box.
02:14They didn't defend both boxes well enough.
02:18That's what Nicky Featherston said.
02:20Simon Grayson used that line a lot as well.
02:24But they were just poor throughout.
02:26They were second best by a long, long way.
02:28It was a really disappointing night for Pools fans, wasn't it?
02:30It was one of those nights where pretty much everything went...
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