Hartlepool and Carlisle, each United, are in no position to have local derbies but Pools’ new chairman, Gary Coxall, writing in the programme and buoyed by three wins in their first four league games, was “hugely excited to be at my first ‘derby’ game”. These are the two most northerly clubs of the Football League’s 72 and Carlisle, 70 miles west as the falcon flies, took home the spoils with their first League Two win of the season, by 3-2 coming twice from behind.
They, too, had lost only once but three draws left them in 20th place, the territory they occupied for most of last season, when they secured safety with two games to go. Hartlepool left it a game later after a more startling recovery. They were bottom for five months from late October, picking up three points from 12 games and, on 3 January, 10 points adrift of survival. Ronnie Moore’s arrival as manager in mid-December did not properly kick in until four wins running in March. On the last day at Brunton Park the clubs shared their relief in a 3-3 draw before major overhauls. Only three starters from each side then were in the initial XIs at Victoria Park on Saturday.
Capital One Cup matches on Tuesday had left Carlisle boosted by a 2-1 win at QPR and Pools grateful they did not have to face anything as slick as Bournemouth, who beat them 4-0. Andrew Boyce, their central defender on loan from Scunthorpe, was looking forward to seeing the ball back in the air. “If it’s up in the sky, there is more chance of getting to it,” he said.
Keith Curle, Carlisle’s manager since September, trying to manage expectations, said: “We need to embrace the success but we don’t let the tail wag the dog.” It is anyone’s guess what the dog is up to now but possibly barking.
In the event Boyce and his fellow centre-back, Scott Harrison, after a promising start were exposed in the air and on the ground. Pools enjoyed the benefit of an early goal when Carl Magnay made an overhit corner good for Harrison to whack in his return. Rakish Bingham, following tricky footwork with a flashing shot, hit a post when 2-0 would not have been undeserved.
Gradually, though, Carlisle came into the game through the overlapping of Danny Grainger and Tom Miller and vision of Bastien Héry, more so after the withdrawal of Magnay, Pools’ defensive guard in a 4-1-2-3, to injury. After Jabo Ibehre headed Carlisle level, the referee, Andy Haines, gave Pools brief heart and a penalty which Billy Paynter converted against the club he left in June. But his glee was short-lived as first Miller equalised, then Ibehre, a summer buy from Colchester, scored his seventh league goal in five games. Curle said they were a work in progress and so it proved through the game as Hartlepool became a work in regress, who looked in need of direction. “We were bullied,” said Moore. “We need people to be big and brave. We stopped winning the first headers. We soft-centred them.” Carlisle received five bookings, Hartlepool none.
The club changed ownership in June and Coxall promises development. It would be a shame if views of a church at one end and HMS Trincomalee, the world’s oldest iron-clad warship, were lost, though the defence could do with some of the ship’s qualities. JPNG, the new owners, are a recruitment agency. On this declining show that too could be handy. But Moore usually finds a way.
