Stevenage make the 450-mile round trip to Hartlepool on Easter Monday to face John Askey’s Pools…
Stevenage sit fourth in the Sky Bet League Two table and are level on points with Carlisle in third with a game in hand. Just seven games remain for Boro, so every point earned is valuable in the race for promotion. On Good Friday, Steve Evans’ men were held to a draw at home to Colchester United with Alex Gilbey getting on the scoresheet.
Hartlepool will be hoping for a good result tomorrow as they look to climb out of the relegation zone. They currently sit 23rd in the table but are level on points with Crawley in 22nd. Pools have picked up just eight league wins from forty attempts, losing eighteen and drawing fourteen.
Despite not having the best of campaigns, Hartlepool are currently one of the most in-form sides in League Two. They are unbeaten in their last seven league games and have won their last two. On Good Friday, Pools travelled to Grimsby and picked up a 4-1 win which included a Dan Kemp hattrick. Josh Umerah is the side’s top scorer this season with fifteen, but Kemp has impressed since coming to the side in January, having netted nine goals in twelve games.
John Askey has spearheaded this resurgence in form, after being brought in as Manager in late February. He took over from Keith Curle who was relieved of his duties due to the side’s league position. Phenomenally, Askey is so far unbeaten as Hartlepool boss, having overseen their last seven games. Previously, Askey had managerial spells at York City, Port Vale, Shrewsbury Town and Macclesfield Town.
Boro’s record against tomorrow’s opponents is rather impressive. From fourteen previous meetings, Stevenage have won ten, drawn three and lost one. The first ever encounter between the sides was in the 2011/12 League One campaign as goals from Scott Laird and Byron Harrison contributed to a 2-2 draw at The Lamex Stadium.
The 2016/17 season saw Boro’s biggest win over Hartlepool as goals from Tyler Walker, Matt Godden, Michael Tonge, Tom Pett and Dean Wells led to a 6-1 thrashing over the side from County Durham.
This season’s reverse fixture ended up as a 1-0 victory for Stevenage as Danny Rose’s sneak attack on the opposition goalkeeper made the difference.
Victoria Park has been home to Hartlepool United since the club’s establishment in 1908. The ground has a capacity of 7,858 with a record attendance of 17,426 being set in the 1956-57 campaign when they welcomed Manchester United in The FA Cup.
Paul Howard has been appointed as Match Referee for tomorrow’s fixture with Daniel Woodward and Christopher Ward as Assistants, and Simon Clayton as Fourth Official. Howard has dished out fifty-two yellow cards and three reds in twenty-one fixtures this season.