Hartlepool United 1 Gillingham 1

CHRIS Turner admitted he had no complaints about Hartlepool United’s performance at home to Gillingham last night. But he was left to rue the lack of a cutting edge.

In a game they couldn’t afford to lose, Pools needed a 20-yard drive from Neil Austin to rescue a point.

They have won only twice in 12 games, and this was against a team without a win away from home this season.

“We played some good football, moved the ball around well and could have been two goals up,’’ said Turner. “It got scrappy in the second half and they caught us out a bit.

They scored, we bounced back and got a point from a game many thought we would lose.

“The goal wasn’t the greatest strike, but it went in.

Things aren’t going for us right now in front of goal, but we are playing good football and it will come.

“You have to keep persevering.

We are creating chances. They had two chances on goal and we outplayed them.

“The players were a bit down afterwards, but what more can you ask? Everyone wants to win, sometimes it doesn’t happen for you.

“If we weren’t creating chances we would be worried.

But our luck will change.”

With chances scarce, the chances of the lift Turner was seeking from the crowd was diminishing.

Pools were awarded a freekick 20 yards from goal. It was worked short and Ritchie Humphreys’ shot went straight into the defensive wall. It summed up the firsthalf malaise.

Joe Gamble’s inadvertent touch back to his keeper fell short, Simeon Jackson nipped in and and beat the keeper. As the sparse Town End held its collective breath the ball rolled across goal and beyond the far post.

Gamble then went closer than Jackson to scoring, drilling a low drive past keeper Alan Julian, but across the frame of the goal.

Defeat – or even anything less than a win – was unthinkable for the home side.

With their 4-5-1 set-up compact, Pools needed their midfielders to provide an attacking thrust.

Sweeney got forward at will, but the end product was often disappointing.

Yet it was the midfielder who went close on 52 minutes, heading at goal from close range and Kevin Maher headed off the line.

The longer Pools kept Adam Boyd on the bench, the more the frustration built up.

After Howe provided a scare by shooting wide, Turner put Ritchie Jones on, pushing Larkin up front with Behan.

It wasn’t quite win or bust just yet; but it may have been the latter on 70 minutes.

Howe crossed from the right and Jackson got ahead of Sam Collins to loop a header across Flinders and into the net from an angle.

The lifeline arrived nine minutes later, as Austin was allowed to roam forward and, without being challenged, bounced his shot beyond Julian from 20 yards.

It should have been game on and the signal for Pools to press for a much-needed winner.

They, however, hardly looked like they had a winner in them.

The closest they came was in injury time when Barry Fuller headed away under pressure in his six-yard area.

Matchfacts

Goals: Jackson (70, 0-1); Austin (79, 1-1)
Bookings: Howe (33, foul); Collins (61, foul); Jackson (87, unsporting behaviour)
Referee: Keith Hill (Royston) 6
Attendance: 2,465
Entertainment: ✰

HARTLEPOOL UNITED (4-4-2): Flinders 6; AUSTIN 7, Collins 6, Liddle 6, Hartley 6; Larkin 6, Humphreys 5 (Jones 66, 6), Gamble 6, Sweeney 5, Monkhouse 5; Behan 6 (Boyd 70, 5). Subs (not used): Cook (gk), Clark, Haslam, Bjornsson, Fredriksen.

GILLINGHAM (4-4-2): Julian 6; Fuller 6, Dennehy 6, BENTLEY 7, Wynter 6; Plummer 5 (Rooney 59, 5), Maher 6, Payne 5, Barcham 5 (Yussuff 83); Jackson 6, Howe 6. Subs (not used): Royce (gk), Nutter, Lewis, Miller, Oli

MAN OF THE MATCH
 NEIL Austin – tried to lift his side long before he scored the leveller