Match Report | Hartlepool United 2-1 York City

By Rory Watson | Image by Adam Davy

The Minstermen lost 2-1 against Hartlepool United at the Suit Direct Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Vanarama National League.

A late Dipo Akinyemi strike restored hope for the Minstermen but a Manny Dieseruvwe brace ended City’s unbeaten league run.

Neal Ardley made one change to the side which turned over Oxford City 2-1 in mid-week, with Michael Duckworth dropping out for Will Davies.

Pools’ latest recruit Otis Khan wasted no time in introducing himself to the home side’s faithful, being at the centre of two attacking moments inside the opening couple of minutes.

City were soon on the counter offensive in the 6th minute, defending a Hartlepool corner before charging forward through Burgess.

A one-two with Dipo Akinyemi eventually saw a header hit wide by Will Davies, who connected with a resulting cross.

Manny Dieseruvwe then produced similar just three minutes later, nodding a cross from the ever-present Khan with no real conviction.

Tom Crawford hit the hosts’ closest chance of the half, driving into space through the middle in the 13th minute to smack an effort just on the outside of George Sykes-Kenworthy’s right-hand post.

Billy Chadwick saw space to manoeuvre into in the area from the left in the 26th minute, however the Pools defenders got in the way of that effort.

Chadwick then managed to test Dixon down low with his fingertips in the 31st minute mark, driving forwards centrally and hitting low to draw the save.

The half dwindled out from its fast-paced opening following stoppages in play.

City continued to battle in the opening exchanges of the second half. Scott Burgess did well to nick the ball in the 53rd minute, driving it forward, but the Pools backline retreated well to stop the setup reaching Akinyemi.

An end-to-end exchange occurred after City won a corner in the 58th minute, when Fallowfield initially looked to pick out Akinyemi in the middle from a cross.

The corner was hooked away, recycled by Fallowfield, before a scramble occurred inside the area, with Chadwick hitting hard but into bodies.

Pools countered on their clearance, winning a corner but seeing their turn to whip one in draw a blank too.

In the 63rd minute, Paddy McLaughlin went in hard to win the ball to spark a City attack. It went left to Chadwick out wide, who picked out Akinyemi however a wild header followed.

The end-to-end nature of the game continued to flow when a minute later Callum Cooke arrowed one wide of the mark from just outside the area.

Akinyemi continued to try and spark an opening for City as the game went on, sending a curled effort wide of Joel Dixon’s left-hand post.

McLaughlin continued to battle in the middle, throwing in a heavy but clean tackle on substitute Courtey Senior to halt a Hartlepool counterattack.

Dieseruvwe broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute, tapping into an empty net following Sykes-Kenworthy’s loose clearance on a cross from the right-hand flank.

A double was notched in the 87th minute as the striker calmly converted the penalty won by the hosts.

Akinyemi put life back into the tie to give glimmer of hope when he found the lower bottom corner after pulling the trigger on a shot inside the area.

Despite a further effort from the forward, which bent wide, City couldn’t replicate their successes in past to snatch a point late on.

HARLEPOOL UNITED: Dixon, Ferguson (43’ Onariase), Mancini (77’ Grey), Dieseruvwe, Cooke, Crawford, Hendrie, Parkes, Featherstone ©, Khan (69’ Senior), Waterfall.

UNUSED SUBS: Jameson, Duffus.

YORK CITY: Sykes-Kenworthy, Fallowfield ©, Crookes (90+3’ Barnes), McLaughlin, Davies (76’ John-Lewis), Akinyemi, Howe, Chadwick, Burgess (76’ Kennedy), Woodyard, Smith.

UNUSED SUBS: Duckworth, Cordner.

ATTENDANCE: 5,481 (1,037 York City supporters).