Hartlepool United 0, Kettering Town 1

Nov 9 2009 The Journal

CHRIS Turner last week tried to play down the significance of FA Cup upsets; within days he was on the receiving end of one.

How it ranks in the list of scalps in this season’s competition remains to be seen and is open to debate.

It was Hartlepool United’s sixth home loss from ten games at Victoria Park this season and Kettering are sitting nicely in third spot in the Blue Square Premier League.

Mark Cooper’s side reached round four last season. But there’s no doubt this was a game Pool should have won – they dominated possession and chances, but fell to a classic sucker punch. Too often this season, Pool have failed to get their noses in front at home and paid the price.

By the time Moses Ashikodi headed in on 15 minutes, Pool had already missed one open goal and forced two stops from keeper Lee Harper.

From then on, the home side attacked, the Poppies defended. And so it continued right until injury time when Harper stopped Gary Liddle’s header from levelling.

“It’s about being positive in front of goal and having that confidence in front of goal to finish and it wasn’t there,” said Pool boss Turner.

“If we were outplayed, outbattled and outfought then it’s a problem. The difference was finishing in front of goal between a three or four one win and a one-goal defeat.

“They had a goal and something to hang onto and they did it well. We have been in that position ourselves away from home. They rode their luck and got away with it. We are very, very disappointed.”

Turner came under fire from the terraces at the final whistle as the fans’ frustrations came to the fore, and he added: “I couldn’t ask the lads to pass and play any better – finishing let us down.

“It’s hard and frustrating because, without being disrespectful, I expected them to create more and press us back more, but maybe because we were so much on top and creating so many problems.

“Someone said, get one, get three or four – but you need that first one. We couldn’t have had a better chance than after 30 seconds.” That chance came when Denis Behan sidefooted weakly at goal from eight yards out.

Behan then blasted high over in the first-half, while three times left-back Peter Hartley had a shot from distance to trouble Harper.

But in reality, the visiting keeper was never over-stretched and, after seeing off Stoke on their way to a fourth round tie with West Ham last season, there’s no cup run for Pool to ponder this season – while Kettering will now play host to Leeds United.

HARTLEPOOL UNITED: Flinders; Austin, Collins, Liddle, Hartley; Monkhouse, Humphreys, Sweeney, Larkin; Boyd (Jones 69), Behan (Greulich 58). Subs (not used): Cook (gk), Clark, Haslam, Fredriksen, Bjornsson.

KETTERING TOWN: Harper; Dempster, Eaden, Roper (Thomas 72), Geohaghon, Taylor; Eaden, Green, Noubissie, Heslop; Ashikodi (Marna 86), Elding (Spencer 74). Subs (not used): Wrack, Cooper (gk), Boucaud.

Goal: Ashikodi 15.

Referee: Mark Heywood (Leeds).

Attendance: 2,645.