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Pool fail to hit the high notes:
by Jonathan Lee
Andy Morrison and Brett Ormerod are hardly choirboys. Morrison is capable of taking his opponents (as well as the game) by the scruff of the neck And Ormerod dives in where angels fear to tread.
10 years ago - Scunthorpe Utd 1 Pool 0
Pool fail to hit the high notes:
by Jonathan Lee
Andy Morrison and Brett Ormerod are hardly choirboys. Morrison is capable of taking his opponents (as well as the game) by the scruff of the neck And Ormerod dives in where angels fear to tread.
Morrison's much heralded arrival captured the imagination of Pool fans who delighted in seeing their "God" back wearing a Tangerine shirt - even if Scunthorpe seemed a strange choice for the second coming of both the Messiah and Mr Jones! In truth it was Ormerod's ankle injury absence rather than Morrison's existence which had the more telling effect on the game. There's a vital dimension missing to Pool's play when they're without their darting centre forward.
The build-up play is fine. In fact the Seasiders dominated possession, especially in the second half, with lots of neat interpassing in the middle of the park. There's certainly nothing wrong with the midfield. Steve Bushell, Richard Wellens and Mike Milligan all getting stuck in and muscling their opponents off the ball, Tommy Jaszczun also joining in at times from left-back.
But without Ormerod pulling defenders all over the park, the end product always seems too predictable and the final ball breaks down on the edge of the opposition box. When Pool did get in behind and threaten with some floated Paul Simpson crosses, for all John Murphy and Mike Newell's decent lay-off work, there was no one to dive in where it hurts and gamble on getting in ahead of the keeper.
All too often Tom Evans, who only had one serious save to make all afternoon, would end up plucking the ball out of the air with only after-thought challenges coming in once he was back on the ground safely clutching the ball. And like so often in the last two seasons if all Pool's clever build-up play is lacking a sharp-edged end product then there's always the possibility that they'll be punished at the other end.
That chance is heightened given Tony Caig's preference for punching rather than catching. He made several good stops when faced with Scunthorpe's shoot-on sight policy, in particular from Gareth Sheldon. But with most he was parrying rather than gathering often prompting an almighty scramble as Pool's defenders rushed to clear his lines. And five minutes before the break Pool were finally made to pay. When Lee Hodges crossed from the right Caig tried to tip the ball over his own bar.
But he got it all wrong. Succeeding only in tipping it onto the crossbar, the ball ballooned straight up in the air and by the time it came down Steve Torpey was rushing in to apply the finishing header. 1-0. A minute later it was nearly a lot worse for Caig and Pool. His confidence having taken a knock Caig came for a Russ Wilcox cross, flapped and missed and skipper Ian Hughes had to clear a Torpey shot off the line.
As the Seasiders went in at the break they were left to reflect on a long-range bombardment by the home side and only one clearcut chance for themselves. It came on 29 minutes when left-back Tommy Jaszczun burst through into the box on the end of a clever Simpson ball but saw his shot blocked by keeper Evans. Murphy could only head the rebound over the bar.
At Torquay, such chances were coming thick and fast with Ormerod's runs causing defenders all sorts of distractions and midfielders like Bushell able to break through almost at will. Granted Scunthorpe are a harder nut to crack, a fact exemplified by Brighton doing exactly what Blackpool should have done to Torquay when beating them 6-2 on Saturday.
And Scunthorpe is hardly the happiest of hunting grounds for Pool. They've never won there in any competition and never will at this rate despite being Scunthorpe's play-off nemesis in both their previous seasons in the basement. That chance is heightened given Tony Caig's preference for punching rather than catching. He made several good stops when faced with Scunthorpe's shoot-on-sight policy, in particular from Gareth Sheldon. But with most he was parrying rather than gathering often prompting an almighty scramble as Pool's defenders rushed to clear his lines.
And five minutes before the break Pool were finally made to pay. When Lee Hodges crossed from the right Caig tried to tip the ball over his own bar. But he got it all wrong. Succeeding only in tipping it onto the crossbar, the ball ballooned straight up in the air and by the time it came down Steve Torpey was rushing in to apply the finishing header. 1-0. A minute later it was nearly a lot worse for Caig and Pool. His confidence having taken a knock Caig came for a Russ Wilcox cross, flapped and missed and skipper Ian Hughes had to clear a Torpey shot off the line. As the Seasiders went in at the break they were left to reflect on a long-range bombardment by the home side and only one clearcut chance for themselves.
It came on 29 minutes when left-back Tommy Jaszczun burst through into the box on the end of a clever Simpson ball but saw his shot blocked by keeper Evans. Murphy could only head the rebound over the bar. At Torquay, such chances were coming thick and fast with Ormerod's runs causing defenders all sorts of distractions and midfielders like Bushell able to break through almost at will. Granted Scunthorpe are a harder nut to crack, a fact exemplified by Brighton doing exactly what Blackpool should have done to Torquay when beating them 6-2 on Saturday. And Scunthorpe is hardly the happiest of hunting grounds for Pool. They've never won there in any competition and never will at this rate despite being Scunthorpe's play-off nemesis in both their previous seasons in the basement. But Pool had enough of the play in the second half to rip up the history books if only they'd had a bit more devilment in the opposition box.
Morrison will be disappointed he thumped his 16-yard shot wide when it all temporarily opened up for him after Murphy had headed back Bushell's cross following the latter's short corner one-two with Wellens. Simpson's 20-yard shot 12 minutes from time came within a whisker of curling in at the far post. And from the same supply five minutes earlier Nathan Stanton did well to head behind a dangerous Simpson cross. With big men Newell and Murphy getting little change out of their opponents despite some good link-up play there was surely a case for introducing substitute Adam Nowland to give Pool another option. He came on with just eight minutes left. And there was one moment when he threatened to open up the defence, but his ball through was far too strong for Newell, it ran out of play and the chance was gone.
The fact that Pool were failing to create clearcut chances despite switching the ball well from side to side was hammered home when Torpey should have sealed it for the home side six minutes from time. Sheldon, who put in a man of the match performance, whipped in a perfect cross to the far post where, from just two yards out, Torpey could only head against the post. It was Scunthorpe's only real chance of the second half. But for all their play it was still better than anything Blackpool could conjure up. And so after all the hope of the first day win over Hull, who are now bottom, it's time to wake up to the fact that Pool have taken just two points from the last 12.
There are extenuating circumstances. It was always obvious the Seasiders had a small squad. And injuries have already hit to the extent that Pool have been unable to field the same starting line-up for any of their six matches so far. In that climate it's hard to get any momentum going. And Steve McMahon now faces a balancing act to keep player confidence up to make sure the passing remains as good as against Torquay and Scunthorpe but add a more ruthless touch at both ends.
Ormerod will hopefully be back sooner rather than later to help in attack, at the other end Phil Barnes must now be breathing down Caig's neck to the extent that the latter will need to be on top form to keep his place. It's a good time to have three home games on the bounce - tomorrow's cup clash against Stockport and back-to-back league games against Hartlepool and Brighton all within the next eight days. Because from the dizzy heights of their bright start there's a worry the Seasiders are already beginning to mirror last season's trends and Aled's lower tones. Now it's time to get back on-song.
Macca's view
WE controlled most of the game. We dealt with set-pieces the way we knew how. And we had enough chances to win the game.
We played terrific football at times. But again terrific football doesn't necessarily win you games and we've proved that in the last two games.
But I'm not going to change my way of playing and my beliefs in how to play. We will keep plugging away. It's better playing like that than humping it forward and still losing.
For the goal I thought Tony Caig should have dealt with the cross. It should have been over the top for a corner at least. But he's fumbled it back into the path of Torpey whose had a simple header. Individual mistakes are costing us.
Tommy Jaszczun had a good chance. It fell on his right foot and he tried to clip it over the keeper. It was an excellent move. But you get nothing for nice football. We need to win games to give us confidence.
Brett Ormerod went over on his ankle in training. It was a major disappointment because he has been on fire. He has been looking very quick so he was a big miss for us.
Lee Collins has also been a big miss for us. So has John Hills. We've had to deal with that. We are a very, very small squad and we have to cope. I'm not crying over spilt milk we just have to get on with it.
I think the two strikers did well. The service in was excellent. And on any other given day we could have had two or three goals because we were inches away from connecting with Paul Simpson's crosses a couple of times.
On another day they would have fallen on people's heads. It's just a matter of timing it and things will come our way. It was just one of those days when quality was there but we weren't getting people on the end of it. We will get there.
We did well defensively. Andy Morrison has made a difference. He's got through another game and he was very, very solid. He organises, talks, and defends the way we want him to defend. We just need a bit of luck now in front of goal.
One point out of nine is not a great return from three games when in our position we should be winning games. If we were getting beat and not playing well then I would be concerned. But we've been beaten in the last two games playing particularly well, so if we keep performing like that most of the time we will be OK.