There are some football matches that you must see: Real Madrid vs Barcelona; Glasgow Rangers vs Celtic or even; Newcastle United vs Sunderland. But Hartlepool vs York is unlikely to appear on many bucket lists yet last Saturday saw these two teams meet for the first time in the league at Victoria Park.
It may not have been the most local of derbies or the highest of profile matches but it grabbed our attention sufficiently to make the 45 mile drive through the Tyne Tunnel towards the Tees Valley. Having parked up we collected our prepaid tickets (well you never know – they might have sold out) and got a thumbs up from H’Angus the club’s monkey mascot who was loitering in the ticket office. There was just time for a quick pint at the Corner Flag supporter’s bar before we made our way to the Niramax stand to watch the game.
Excitement rose in the crowd of nearly five thousand as the Pools and the Minstermen came onto the pitch. It was going to be a classic blue against red clash with lots of promise but this soon drained away as the drab first half unfolded. Neither side could get going and the cold heavy drizzle that fell on our heads for most of the half didn’t help. Apart from a couple of howlers including a miss from 3 yards, nothing much had happened.
We had elected to stand, there is no better way to see football but I had forgotten how cold a concrete terrace in January in a Northern seaside town can be. I’d wrapped up warm but it struck up through my feet. We were right by the centre line though, ten feet from the turf and the speed of the players and the banter of the crowd kept us going.
The half time whistle went and we queued for the ironically named ‘Hungry Monkey’ café as by the time we got to the front they had run out of food. Two hot cups of tea helped bring us back to life as we made our way to the terraces hoping for a better exhibition in the second 45.
And we weren’t disappointed. The skies had cleared and from the whistle both teams had their tails up. The football was faster and more intense but for some reason was played mostly on the far side of the pitch. One of the Pools key players Luke James kept drifting over to the left and dragged the play out wide and we urged him to come inside where he would prove to be much more dangerous.
The match stayed in the balance until Harewood was substituted on 69 minutes. Up to this point the Pools had been relying upon their star signing to provide all of the threat up front and had lacked any real shape going forward. But the breakthrough came when Jack Barmby, the son of former England international Nicky came on in place of Monkhouse. It was his first appearance for the club and immediately he caused trouble for the Minstermen’s defence, winning a free kick close to York’s corner flag under the Cyril Knowles stand.
The resulting cross was put away by James who had finally appeared in the box to deliver what we all knew he was capable of. His eleventh goal of the season swung the momentum completely towards the blues and the game was sealed on 89 minutes when new boy Barmby delivered a lovely shot into the top of York’s net. James was awarded the man of the match but it was Barmby that had made the difference.
So that was it, the final whistle had gone and we were warming ourselves in the heat of the car. It hadn’t been the greatest of matches but it had been a great day and on the way home we talked of other spectacles to see. Perhaps the Boro vs the once mighty Leeds would be good.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 