By Albatross
January 24 2003

Is it time for a quick double? Hartlepool United are on a hot streak - five wins on the spin. That sequence started with a win over Saturday's Opponents, Cambridge. Will they provide a tougher test for Pools at the Abbey? Until December 28th, Cambridge had scored in every league game they'd played, and hadn't lost in the 3rd Division since 9th November. That of course had all changed after their visit to the Vic, and it hasn't been the best of times for Cambridge since. They have only played one more league game - losing to Rushden last Saturday - and have dropped to 11th. A combination of postponemnets and their involvement in the FA Cup - where they lost after a replay against Millwall - and the LDV Trophy - a golden goal win against Brentford on Tuesday - have meant limited opportunities to rearrange games and so they have played three games less than Pools. The gap between us is currently 21 points.

Neither side has any suspensions, but Cambridge have one or two injury worries. Shane Tudor is certain to miss the game with a Hamstring Injury; there are also slight doubts over Stev Angus, who missed the LDV game. Angus was possibly Cambridge's best player in the game at the Vic, and if he is missing it will be a big blow for the team from the Abbey Stadium. Warren Goodhind picked up a dead leg on Tuesday and seems likely to miss the game, and leading Scorer Dave Kitson has been suffering from a cold, but managed to play in the LDV tie and scored the equaliser right at the end of normal time.

For Pools, there are no new injury worries. The cancellation of a friendly (!) between Pools and Darlo reserves means that Paul Smith and Gordon Watson may again find this a match too soon, and with the form Ritchie Humphreys has shown since switching to the wing it's doubtful whether Smith would get his place back anyway. The betting is that there will be no changes from the side that played the full 90 minutes at Macclesfield, although there may be changes on the bench where Paul Arnison may miss out for a more attacking player.

When you get on a run like Pools are currently on - five wins on the spin - the thing that's always at the back of your mind is that it's going to end sometime. Although not in the best of form, Cambridge looks to be a very stiff test. I'll predict a 1-1 draw, with Tinkler getting on the scoresheet.