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Acklam had first use of the windy conditions but were put under pressure almost immediately from the kick off with Pools playing a strong driving game off their inspirational stand off, Ian Bond. Unfortunate handling errors prevented an early try, with Acklam utilising the wind to clear the danger. Pools were not to be denied for too long, and another strong forward effort, with Tom King buzzing around the pack and cajoling them forward, saw the ball worked wide for captain Alan Brown to break through before unselfishly passing onto to winger Richard Picknett to score the first try of the game in the corner. Acklam, who were defending a proud home record against Pools, then proceeded to put the visitors under pressure, and nearly scored with a clever kick through on the left wing, only for club stalwart, Stewart Hind, to save the day with a last ditch cover tackle on the winger.
Acklam took the lead in a bizarre fashion when an attempted long range effort hit the post, and the ball popped up from nowhere for centre Dawson to crash over for a converted try. Acklam then missed a further two long range penalties, the second offence resulting in a sin binning for flanker Suliano Tubuna for handling in the scrum. Bond caught the home team unawares with a quick tap from the resulting drop out, with the ball moved wide to the flying Dave Standing, who skinned his opposite marker on the outside before cleverly kicking down the wing into space, before an unfortunate knock on brining this flowing move to an end. Despite being a man down, Pools put on extreme pressure at the resulting scrum, which enabled Bond to feed Ian Coulson, who showed considerable strength and pace to crash through the middle to score under the posts. Pools increased their lead straight from the kick off when Dave Ryan and Tubuna secured good possession which enabled the backs to make a break through the centre before being illegally stopped. Another quick tap penalty from the ever alert King enabled the ball to be worked out to centre Adam Redhead, who through an outrageous dummy to score in the corner, for a half time lead of 17-7 to Hartlepool.
The second half started slowly with Pools dominating possession, but unable to break through some strong Acklam defence. This spurred the home team who took the ball close to the Pools line before losing possession. However, a charge down by their flanker enabled him to score under the posts to reduce the Pools lead to just 5 points. The half back combination of Bond and King took control to push Pools forward, with Bond making one of his trademark breaks before Hind was illegally held back from supporting him. Full back, Lewis Humble, stepped forward to land a long range penalty. The same player was then on the end of a sweeping move to score a thoroughly deserved try to finally ensure the victory for the visitors. Pools the introduced Andrew Small, Patrick Wilson and Andy Woodward, returning from a long term injury, into the game, with the former unluckily being denied a try when play was brought back for a forward pass. Tubuna scored Pools 5th and final try of the game after good driving work through Mick Hall, Brett Cullaine and Andy Palmer, allowing the flanker to stroll around close to the posts to score.
Acklam put up a brave performance against the league leaders, preventing them from playing their naturally open game, but a determined forward effort, with Man of the Match Dave Ryan prominent throughout, saw Pools show that they can adopt new tactics when the game requires.
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NEXT FIXTURE
Pre-season training
VENUE
meet Mayfield Park 645pm
DATE
Tuesday 23rd June
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