By Albatross
May 23 2003

March was not a good month for Hartlepool United, as the title favourites lost their form. Were the wheels on the bus about to fall off? "Here we are again" - as Pools faced Darlington in the last ever Feethams derby for the second season running. A big following from Hartlepool were there, and some extravagant predictions had been made; and the game was not without incident. 1-0 down at the break, Pools went into a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Boyd (penalty) and Clarke; and when Valentine was sent off for the Quakers after a second bookable offence it looked like another victory was on the cards. However, shortly after Liddle headed an equaliser and Darlo held out as the game finished at 2-2.

An away game at Lincoln followed on the Tuesday night. It was always going to be a tough game, and Lincoln made sure Pools were up against it when they scored just before half time. Pools failed to break down the resolute Lincoln side, and then got hit twice on the break late on to end up with a 3-0 defeat. We'd gone four games since a forward scored from open play, Williams was into an extended dry spell, and the fans were getting restless: where was Watson? Rumours abounded that he'd be in for the Bury game on the Friday Evening.

Sure enough, Flash was on the bench for the game, and got on the pitch for the final ten minutes. His arrival generated the biggest cheer of the night though, as the game ended in a 0-0 draw. The gap was closing.

Another home game, against Southend, gave us the chance to get back on track. The Shrimpers had nothing left to play for, and weren't expected to put up much of a fight; however, although Pools won 2-1 thanks to a Humphreys brace, it was a far from convincing performance. Watson wasn't involved, and although Smith did make his return, coming on as a sub for his first appearance since Boxing Day, there was a feeling that the goals from midfield were papering over the cracks. Eifion had gone nine games without a goal, and none of our other forwards was looking like scoring either; the team was looking jaded.

This was only emphasised in the next two games. Pools were outfought and outhought as Wrexham cruised to a 2-0 win at the Racecourse on the Tuesday; Flash played the last twenty minutes but offered little. And then the visit to struggling Bristol Rovers on the Saturday lead to a frustrating 1-0 defeat from an early goal from Hyde. Far from celebrating promotion, we were now nervously looking over our shoulders.

Watson started the next game, against Bournemouth, but again failed to ignite the Pools attack; a 0-0 draw finished the month for Pools. A busy month had seen some of our worst performances, and allowed Rushden to put us firmly in their sights: the gap was now just three points. The accusations and finger-pointing were about to start.