It was Hartlepool’s opening home game of the season at Victoria Park, and there was a sense of anxiety in the air from the home fans after Pools had lost 2 of their opening 2 games last week. A 1-0 defeat to Stevenage in League 2 last Saturday and a 6-2 thrashing by Port Vale in mid-week in the Capital One Cup. Bury had come off the back of a 1-0 defeat last Saturday to Cheltenham and then they went and took Championship aide Bolton to extra time in the Capital One Cup, so we didn’t really know what to expect from the North Western side.
We soon saw what they did have to offer as they started off confidently and on the front foot, Nathan Cameron with a free header which went just wide of the far post from a corner showing an early threat. Hartlepool were playing most of their football on the flanks, with Darren Holden trying to break through Bury’s 3 at the back. It didn’t count for much though as soon after, Bury’s dominance paid dividends as they walked through Pools’ nervy defence and midfield, Ryan Lowe sent a cross into the box and ex-Pools loanee Daniel Nardiello pounced and headed home in front of the 244 Bury fans. Pools tried to get back into the game soon after, as Marlon Harewood scored a sublime overhead kick from just outside the 6 yard box only for the referee to blow because the ball went out of play in the build up. It was Hartlepool 0-1 Bury going into half-time.
Pools were poor in the first half, but then started on the front foot on the second half but couldn’t get close to goal, Luke James ran through Bury’s defence and had a sight of goal but the 19-year-old unselfishly pulled the ball back looking for Harewood but was intercepted. Soon after, Bury hoofed a ball up attempting to find Danny Rose but it only found Matty Bates. Bates had a bit of pressure on him from Rose and he attempted to play it back to goalkeeper Flinders but the power on the pass was too weak and Danny Rose, the loan signing from Barnsley, pounced on the ball and made it 2-0 to Bury. The goal killed off the game and it was a comfortable win for Bury, who kick started their season with a convincing win over a Pools side who look like they could struggle this season.
(Att: 3246 (244 Bury))
TEAM FORMATIONS:
HARTLEPOOL UNITED
| Scott Flinders – Busy afternoon for him, couldn’t do much about either goal. | 6.0 |
| Michael Duckworth – A positive for Pools, much better than last week and was very energetic on the right hand side. | 6.5 |
| Matty Bates – A bad day at the office and was at fault for Bury’s second goal. | 4.0 |
| Neil Austin – Didn’t do too much wrong, but it’s clear that full-back is his strongest position. | 5.0 |
| Darren Holden – Continued his awul pre-season form with another game where he struggled. | 4.0 |
| Stuart Parnaby – Struggled on the right side of midfield, Parnaby should be played in his own position. Poor and had little impact. | 4.5 |
| Brad Walker – Couldn’t get into the game. | 4.0 |
| Tommy Miller – A bright spark for Pools, comfortable in possession. Range of passing is sublime. | 6.0 |
| Jonathan Franks – Energetic and determined, couldn’t get into the game. Would like to see him start up front on Tuesday night vs Dagenham and Redbridge. | 6.0 |
| Marlon Harewood – Had a better game than he did against Stevenage, the effort was there. | 5.5 |
| Luke James – As always, put his best efforts in but his decision making was poor. He’s still young and it’ll only make him better. | 6.0 |
Substitutions
| Ryan Brobbel – Brought on way too late and had little impact when on the pitch. | 4.0 |
| 0.0 | |
| 0.0 |
Bury FC
| Rob Lainton – Was never troubled or challenged from Pools. | 6.0 |
| Jimmy McNulty – Solid, just like his fellow centre-halves. | 7.0 |
| Andrew Tutte – The ex Rochdale man had a good game, keeping out Luke James and Marlon Harewood. | 6.5 |
| Kelvin Etuhu – Same as the other two, good solid game for the Bury man. | 6.5 |
| Nicky Adams – Playing as a right-midfielder/right-back, I can’t remember him doing anything significant. | 5.5 |
| Chris Hussey – Constant threat, gave Duckworth and Parnaby a nightmare. My MOTM. | 8.0 |
| Tom Soares – Did well, controlled the midfield. | 6.5 |
| Nathan Cameron – Another who controlled the midfield well. | 6.5 |
| Pablo Mills – Didn’t really notice him. | 5.0 |
| Ryan Lowe – Constant threat, involved in the build up to the first goal with a great assist. | 8.0 |
| Daniel Nardiello – Scored with a cool header. | 7.5 |
Substitutions
| Danny Mayor – Can’t remember him having a huge impact as second half was poor for both sides. | 5.0 |
| Danny Rose – New on loan man scored having put good pressure on Matty Bates. | 8.0 |
| Chris Sedgwick – Came on a bit too late, after the second goal, so little impact but saw out the win. | 5.0 |
Man of the Match
| CHRIS HUSSEY – Constant threat, always found space and was good with the ball at his feet. | 8.0 |
