Super Swans Edge Closer To Promotion

3swan reports: After a comical opening defending to find ourselves 1 down we battled back into the game. Another couple of early scares when crosses flew across the six yard box but after about the 10 minute we came more and more into the game where from about the 15 min dominated. Good goal from Pratley from the edge of the box and another pen from Scotland at a perfect time to score. The second half was different as we played into the very strong wind & rain. Clearances were only getting to the half way line putting us under more and more pressure. A couple of very good saves from Dorus and strong defending kept us in the lead. A good breakaway goal with Pratley feeding Duffy and continuing his run saw a return ball putting Pratley in one on one with the keeper. Slid the ball past him and found the corner of the net. From then it was just stay strong and take the 3 points.
Very good team performance in very bad conditions.

Fans on the official coaches were lucky – out of the ground cross a road and into the dry. Some of us had a bit of a walk in a monsoon…………….just drying out now

And the Hartlepool view from Poolie1974: We started off like a house on fire and inside the first minute Brown, Porter and Monkhouse destroyed your defence to open the scoring. God knows where your defence was  we had 4 players waiting to score. After that you put us under a spell of pressure for 10 minutes but we held it off and then had a spell of our own when we could have easily been 3/4 up with our left-winger causing havoc down the flank and putting in 3 great crosses into the 6 yard box that only needed a touch to put the ball in, but there was no fooker there  Your first goal was a snorter, the ball spun out to Pratley who blasted it into the corner with our keeper having no chance. It all looked even going into half-time until in injury time the referee gave the most diabolical penalty decision i've ever seen up here    Our defender Clark clearly won the ball and about a second later your lad went over him(not a dive or owt just accidental) not one of your players or fans behind the goal appealed and the ref just blew for it. Scotland tucked it away no bother.

In the second-half we had the wind and had a few chances but your keeper De Vries made some quality saves and once James Brown was taken off it was only a matter of time before you broke away and scored the killer third which Pratley did very well, albeit after hesitation between our keeper, Sid Barrett and Richie Humphreys  That was the end of the game as a contest really and although we had a few more chances your keeper and his excellent positioning made sure that we weren't going to get another.

On reflection, if you take possession and chances into account then we would have just edged it and maybe a draw would have been a fair result. But it wasn't and fair play to your lads for the taking the chances when they came their way and you got that little bit of luck (the penalty) that you normally get when your top of the league 

Best players for you lot were De Vries and Pratley, if i had to give a MOTM between the two it Pratley would just edge it. Ran the show in midfield and was picking up every second ball, two good finishes as well.

On the down side for us is the injuries to James Brown and Gary Liddle who got clattered (accidently) while trying to get a challenge in for your third goal.

A mention as well for your travelling support. A decent following of about 500 who were pretty noisy – once you equalised  and Kudos to the ten or so who took their tops off in the freezing wind and rain after your third went in    Especially the Buster Bloodvessel shaped gadgie who was dancing like Travolta for the last 15 minutes 

Promotion should be a formality now and good luck next season in the championship.

Hartlepool

• 21 Lee-Barrett
• 02 McCunnie
• 05 Nelson
• 06 Clark
• 08 Humphreys
• 15 Sweeney
• 07 Liddle
• 11 Monkhouse
• 14 Brown
• 10 Porter
• 19 Robson

Substitutes

• 01 Budtz,
• 04 Boland,
• 17 Foley,
• 20 Antwi,
• 24 Mackay

Swansea

• 21 De Vries
• 22 Rangel
• 05 Tate
• 15 Lawrence
• 03 Austin
• 28 Butler
• 07 Britton
• 08 Pratley
• 18 Robinson
• 09 Scotland
• 11 Duffy

Substitutes

• 30 Knight,
• 17 Tudur-Jones,
• 23 Bauza,
• 24 Way,
• 32 Williams

Ref: Lee Probert