Hartlepool – Notts County, English Division 2
2004-04-17 16.00 CET
Pick: Hartlepool
Stake: 3%
Odds: 1,61
Final reason for bet
· Hartlepool has played very good football lately.
· Hartlepool has no new injury or suspension worries; instead they get back one important midfielder.
· Notts County is a very weak away team, especially when facing teams from the upper part of the table.
· Notts County will miss one influential midfielder.
General comment about the game
Play off candidates Hartlepool will take on struggling Notts County in an afternoon clash in the English Division 2. Hartlepool is in good form with three consecutive victories. Their two recent home matches have been against fellow promotion hopefuls Luton and Bournemouth. In both occasions Hartlepool has been the winner which has even further strengthened their playoff dreams. Currently they are at sixth and the last playoff spot three points ahead of seventh placed Port Vale. Last game away against Wrexham was a good display by the team despite the fact that they started a bit slow. But once they had settled down they played some good football and managed to win the game by 2-1. Manager Neale Cooper thought his players were magnificent once again. Hartlepool manager has the benefit of being able to continue with a winning line up. However midfielder Gavin Strachan (34(1) apps, 5 goals) will be pushing for a return since missing out against Wrexham with a back injury. Defender Michael Nelson (37 apps, 3 goals) will miss out once again since he has not recovered from the injury he sustained in late March. However, the defence has looked good recently with strong performances especially from the heart of the defence by Martin Tinkler and Chris Westwood so Nelson’s continued absence should not be a big problem.
Notts County is deep down in the relegation dilemma with five points up to a safe spot and only four games to go. Of course it is not impossible to avoid relegation but the last displays have not been superb and with only one point collected from the two Eastern games things are difficult. With three of the remaining games being against play off chasing teams it does not look brighter. Furthermore, Notts County is one of the worst teams in the division playing on the road. So far they have lost 14 from 21 games played and they have lost all games when playing away to the top teams. The best result against a top team is a draw away to 10th placed Barnsley. Last game Notts County played at home towards mid table Sheffield Wednesday in a goalless draw. The game was a dull affair with very few goal scoring opportunities. Notts County had a better day against Sheffield W than against Colchester two days earlier when they lost with 4-1 after a bad display. Still however they have to create chances in order to score and with only 3 shots on target it is not enough. In the second half Notts County were the better side and in the last 20 minutes they put Sheffield W under some pressure. In injury time everybody expected Notts County to grab the winning goal but top scorer Paul Hefferman who had the chance were too aggressive and instead of just placing the ball carefully beside the post he shot it wide. Notts County has no suspensions but winger Tony Scully (10 apps, 3 goals) is expected to miss the rest of the season through injury. Since arriving in mid February Scully has been important on the midfield and the Notts County coach has praised him on several occasions. He missed also last game against Sheffield W.
Hartlepool has played really well lately and is now in a position when they have a playoff spot in their own hands. They can continue with a winning line up and that together with home advantage should be enough to beat struggling Notts County. Furthermore, under normal circumstances Notts County would battle and go for a draw in a match like this. However, they desperately need three points to avoid relegation and this fact will probably open up the game and therefore suite the more skilful players in Hartlepool. Since there are a lot of nerves from both sides we keep the stake at a medium level, 3%.
Recent games for home team
|
2004-04-12 |
Wrexham-Hartlepool |
1-2 |
|
2004-04-10 |
Hartlepool-Bournemouth |
2-1 |
|
2004-04-06 |
Hartlepool-Luton |
4-3 |
|
2004-04-03 |
Brighton-Hartlepool |
2-0 |
|
2004-03-27 |
Hartlepool-Brentford |
1-2 |
Recent games for away team
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2004-04-12 |
Notts County-Sheffield W |
0-0 |
|
2004-04-10 |
Colchester-Notts County |
4-1 |
|
2004-04-03 |
Notts County-Blackpool |
4-1 |
|
2004-03-27 |
Tranmere-Notts County |
4-0 |
|
2004-03-20 |
Notts County-Chesterfield |
1-1 |
Home table
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Hartlepool |
21 |
9 |
8 |
4 |
34-21 |
35 |
Away table
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Notts County |
21 |
4 |
3 |
14 |
18-46 |
15 |
Links for this game
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// SportsObserver 040416
