Hartlepool
Williams
Bass
Barron
Lee
Westwood
Clarke
Tinkler
Widdrington
Smith
Humphreys
Watson

A pretty dire performance not helped by several factors.

1. Cusack's absence
2. Petty's court victory
3. Addision's tinkering with the formation.

A good sized crowd on the NB but the East Stand was virtually empty.

Cusack was missing from the bench so must have been injured. Instead of replacing like with like (Phillips), Addison played Brodie behind the front two of Williams and Sibide.

This effectively left a pair of toothless tigers to patrol our midfield - Coates and Lacey.

So it was no surprise that this unbalanced team failed to have a shot on target in the first half.

Defensive duties (due to the midfield dereliction) prevented both Evans's from their usual rampaging up the flanks and all Swansea's play was up the middle - mostly aerial.

Hartlepool were a big side and this proved little problem for them - and it was difficult sometimes to realise that this was meant to be a game of football and not head tennis!

Hartlepool unexpectedly took the lead on 20 mins. An attack on the right, saw the ball break across to the left edge of the area. Quick as a flash the ball was returned goalwards and with no one reacting, a pinball style header flashed the ball past an equally motionless Freestone.

This looked to be a bit flukey in its execution, but proved not to be the case when Hartlepool repeated the move from the right hand side in the 2nd half.

Second half was marginally more promising for the Swans - especially the last 10 mins - where their best chances came from headers from wide crosses.

Unfortunately, the keeper or bar was always in the way and it soon became obvious that Swansea were never going to score no matter how long the game would run.

Ironically the best cross came from Bound who found himself wide left.

By this time Addison had gone 4 up front by replacing Smith with Watkin.

O'Leary's dismissal, unlucky to be sent off for a 3rd time this season, for two tackles from behind seemed to spur Swansea on and with 10 men (was Hollins right all along?) they enjoyed their best spell of the game.

Addison then went 5 up front when he brought Sharp on for the final 5 minutes - and when Freestone went up for a corner in the dying minutes, I think we had 11 up front!

Hartlepool were full value for their win tonight - but the crowd despite some muted boos at HT, kept behind the team with positive chanting right up to the final minute.

The Petty Out chants were in evidence, but nowhere as near as intense as at the Rushden game.

A word on the new boy Brodie - reminded me of Colin McDonald but wearing a long black wig.

Difficult to pick a man of the match tonight - nobody shone for me.