Hartlepool United Res 2 Newcastle United Res 0

Mar 17 2010 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

JOEY Barton missed a penalty on his Newcastle United comeback as a strong Hartlepool rolled over their North East rivals.

The £5.8million midfielder donned the captain’s armband but he couldn’t prevent a young United side from a heavy defeat at Victoria Park.

And his night was tinged with disappointment when he chipped a 65th-minute penalty over the bar. Goals from Michael Mackay and a header right on stroke of half-time from Colin Larkin consigned United to defeat in their Totesport.com league fixture.

And while the miss was embarrassing for Barton, in truth it was a good 75-minute work-out for a player looking to prove his fitness under the watchful eye of United manager Chris Hughton.

Hartlepool completely dominated the first half and striker Mackay went close with a curling shot before opening the scoring on 16 minutes.

United’s back four was cut open by a Larkin pass and Mackay showed a cool head to guide a precise shot past Soderberg. Pool continued to exert pressure on the United goal and Ritchie Humphreys almost extended their lead with a dipping volley. Newcastle had barely made any inroads going forward but in a rare foray into the Hartlepool half Joan Edmundsson exchanged passes with Phil Airey before blasting a shot over Grant Herbert’s goal.