It’s been a while, but here’s a midweek match under lights to sink our teeth into. Hartlepool is a ruddy long way to go for a Tuesday night encounter, but it’s not half as long as our wait for a league win – now stretching back almost two months. League One’s bottom side Colchester are the only side in the top four divisions who are having a worse time of it than us.
Hartlepool United v Stevenage: Pools Gold?
So, how do we get out of this rut? It won’t surprise you to learn that, with no wins in nine league outings, we’re propping up the form table when it comes to the last six matches. It’s Hartlepool who are the side keeping us company down there, but York didn’t stick to what you might call ‘the script’ when we went up there. Nor did Barnet at our gaff. We could go on, but we’d rather not…
If you’re searching for reasons to be cheerful going into this one, you’re not going to find them in the form book. If it ain’t making for grim reading, it’s giving you the tiny glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel that end up being oncoming trains. You’re more likely to brighten up your day with a Double Bubble slot guide – you might even make a little bit of monies out of it!
We’ve come up against the Pools on eight separate occasions up until this point, and the good news is that we’re yet to be beaten – even if that’s now a record up against a greater threat to its life than the Outer Mongolian Snow Panda. But who knows, maybe it’s that sort of old habit, the kind that is said to die hard, that we need to get ourselves back on track with this campaign.
The Pools are four points behind us with five games in hand, which makes you wonder if it’s a bit of a false position in which they find themselves. The bookies are siding with a home win as you might expect; Boro’ as far out as 2/1 (Bet365) for the victory. The prospect of goals seems slim too, which is why 10/11 (William Hill) on Under 2.5 Goals is looking rather fetching at the moment.
We almost go into this one with no genuine expectations – a poor stretch of form and a long midweek trip to the north east doesn’t exactly give you that warm glow of excitement and optimism. But all things must pass, right? And if we hold onto that, maybe our hope hasn’t been extinguished. Because it’ll surely get better. It simply has to. Y’know, this time next year, we’ll be millionaires…
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