National League play off Final: Pools V Torquay. Full Time: Pools celebrate promotion to League Two!!!!!

r00fie1

r00fie1

Well-known member
The big day has arrived for the two former Football League teams, who go face to face today at Bristol City`s Ashton Gate. Pools fans wont care about traveling the 275 miles to Bristol, with promotion the prize for the winners.

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www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk

Promotion ‘would mean everything’ to Dave Challinor and Hartlepool United as play-off final approaches

Dave Challinor and Hartlepool United could be just 90-minutes away from the Football League.
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Promotion ‘would mean everything’ to Dave Challinor and Hartlepool United as National League play-off final against Torquay United approaches​

Dave Challinor and Hartlepool United could be just 90-minutes away from the Football League.​

By Dominic Scurr

It’s been a long and turbulent road for the club over the past few years but Challinor has helped steady the ship and guide the side to the National League promotion final against Torquay United.

It’s Challinor’s 10th play-off campaign of his career and one he’s desperate to have end with his first ever promotion to the Football League
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“It would mean everything,” said the Pools boss.

“We all want to do it for the fans and the clubs but personally you want as many promotions as you can on your CV.

“My aim since I started managing as player/manager in 2011 at Colwyn Bay was be a Football League manager.

"I’ve not had the honour to be able to do that I want to make sure that I can class myself as that by winning on Sunday, as do all the players.

"We speak about being here and the pinnacle and aspiring to be better and aspiring for this group to be a successful one and by five o’clock, whenever it might be, on Sunday, we’ll be able to potentially say that they are Football League players which is something that is huge for them personally and huge for us as a group but most importantly, massive for the football club to get back to where it should be.”

"It’s no real surprise if I’m honest,” Challinor added. “These fans go above and beyond to make sure that's the case and especially in difficult times.

"You know when it's the biggest game for a long time and you know if there's 3,000 tickets and 20,000 people want those tickets it's going to become a bit of a scramble and a ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ situation.

"We've got to appreciate those fans and those watching back home and do them justice.

“We’ve built a philosophy in the changing room which reflects the supporters and those videos you see help that but we don't need any more motivation other than getting this club back to the Football League.”

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Its been a long, hard, difficult journey for Pools - not just getting to the Play - Off Final, but through years of mismanagement, changes of Managers and ownership. Pulling back from the brink - hanging on by their finger-tips.

They epitomise the will to keep breathing when they should have died: but their fans, like all fans, are the life blood of the club. The Hartlepool United Fans Trust are an integral part of the clubs future.
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Hartlepool United Supporters Trust | Facebook

A group dedicated to the formation of a Hartlepool United Supporters Trust.
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A message from the Torquay United Supporters Trust to Poolies fans:
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Come on You Pools!
 
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www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk

Match preview: The big one - Hartlepool United Football Club

Following Sunday’s nerve-shredding win over Stockport County, Hartlepool United travel to Ashton Gate, Bristol for a one-off game against Torquay
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Match preview: The big one​

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Following Sunday’s nerve-shredding win over Stockport County, Hartlepool United travel to Ashton Gate, Bristol for a one-off game against Torquay United. The winner gets what every National League club dreams of – a place in the Football League next season.

Both teams traditionally play at a higher level, but Hartlepool are coming to the end of their fourth season in the National League and Torquay have been absent from league football since the 2013-14 season. Sunday’s match is a chance of both sides to get back to where the sides and their supporters know they belong.

The Opposition

Torquay were top of the best-of-the-rest in the National League, finishing four points behind champions Sutton United in second place. At one point, they were runaway leaders, but a slip in form and injuries in key areas saw Sutton take advantage.

Their recent form only includes one win in five, but it came at a vital time. Following draws with Bromley, Stockport, Barnet, and Altrincham, the Gulls hosted Notts County in the play-off semi-finals. Danny Wright’s brace saw them lead twice, but they were pegged back by goals from Ruben Rodrigues and Adam Chicksen. In extra-time, quickfire goals from Asa Hall and Dean Moxey saw them progress 4-2 to meet Pools.

Experienced campaigner Gary Johnson is at the helm for Torquay United and we know plenty about their dangermen. Danny Wright got a brace in his comeback against Notts County at the weekend, and defender Sam Sherring was recently named in the Vanarama National League Team of the Season along with Rhys Oates.

The History

Torquay are familiar opponents to Hartlepool, with 83 matches taking place between the sides. The stats couldn’t be closer – Hartlepool have won 29 matches, Torquay have won 30, and 24 have ended in a draw.

This season, it’s honours-even in terms of points won. Hartlepool endured a horror-show in front of the BT Sport cameras on Halloween 2020, losing 5-0 to the visitors. However, Challinor’s men got their revenge in March as a moment of magic from Luke Molyneux saw Pools defeat the Gulls on their own patch.

Team News

Ben Killip returned to the bench in the weekend’s semi-final, so Challinor will have a choice to make between him, Brad James, and Henrich Ravas for the trip to Bristol. Lewis Cass is continuing his comeback from his hamstring injury and will hope to be in contention for the trip. Luke Molyneux also returned to the team on Sunday, coming on as a second-half substitute, and the former Sunderland winger will hope to be involved again this week.

Watch, Listen, and Follow

Due to BT Sport’s exclusivity agreement with the National League, the game cannot be streamed by either club. Instead, it will be broadcast on BT Sport 1 HD with coverage starting at 1pm prior to the 2pm kick-off.

Mixlr commentary is available after our media team was granted access, and this week Alex Chandy will be joined by club legend Adam Boyd, a man with plenty of play-off experience. The striker was a double goalscorer in the semi-final against Tranmere and he also played the full 90 minutes against Sheffield Wednesday at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

 

PREVIEW | Promotion Final v Hartlepool (20/06/21 2pm) - Torquay United

After an unforgettable season, it all comes down to a pivotal day in Bristol for Gary Johnson's side, as United head for Ashton Gate looking to end the Club's seven-year exile in non-League football. Blocking The Gulls' path in the Vanarama National League Promotion Final is Hartlepool United, a...
torquayunited.com torquayunited.com
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After an unforgettable season, it all comes down to a pivotal day in Bristol for Gary Johnson’s side, as United head for Ashton Gate looking to end the Club’s seven-year exile in non-League football.​

Blocking The Gulls’ path in the Vanarama National League Promotion Final is Hartlepool United, a side who are themselves also looking to reclaim their place back in the EFL, after a campaign that saw them finish in 4th position, two places and four points below Torquay.

  • In The Opposition Dugout
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Dave Challinor’s arrival at Victoria Park in November 2019 sparked a resurgence for the Monkey Hangers, who had previously failed to impose themselves in the fifth tier, following their League Two relegation in 2017.

As a player, Challinor enjoyed lengthy spells at Tranmere, Stockport and Bury, before transferring that success into his managerial career, initially with Colwyn Bay, before a memorable eight-year spell at AFC Fylde, where he took The Coasters all the way from NPL Division One North obscurity to the very brink of the Football League.

His dismissal from Mill Fam came just five months after their historic FA Trophy victory at Wembley, and Hartlepool were quick to capitalise. Selecting him as the man to take the reigns following Craig Hignett’s departure, a 12th placed finish last time out laid the foundations for a sustained promotion push this term.

  • Route To The Final
After just missing out on 3rd place to Stockport County, Challinor’s charges were forced to enter the National League Play-Offs at the Eliminator stage, however they looked to be making light work of the extra fixture, as they raced into a 3-0 lead at home to Bromley. Two second-half goals for the visitors weren’t enough to deny them, and set the stage for a titanic battle with Stockport, with Rhys Oates (pictured below) notching a late winner enough to seal a place in tomorrow’s showpiece final.

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  • The Story So Far
Sunday won’t be the first time that the BT Sport cameras have watched these two sides meet, however it was an occasion that our rivals in the North-East may want to forget.

With the two sides battling it out for supremacy at the National League summit last October, two early goals from Man of the Match Danny Wright put Johnson’s men in charge, before a third from Ben Whitfield shortly before the interval left the hosts with a proverbial mountain to climb in a bid to prevent a Halloween horror show. Things got little better following the change of ends though, with Wright completing his hat-trick, before Gary Warren’s strike just before full-time rounded off a stunning evening for Torquay.

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The return visit some four months later saw the away side once again come out on top, as this time it was Hartlepool who took all three points, courtesy of Luke Molyneux’s early effort. With one win each going into tomorrow’s encounter, both sides will have reasons to be confident ahead of the winner-takes-all decider in Bristol.

  • Star Performer
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After initially joining Pools on a short-term deal in February 2019, Irishman Gavan Holohan made the most of his big break in the English game following stints with League of Ireland sides Drogheda, Cork, Galway and Waterford.

A regular source of assists throughout the past nine months, whilst registering eight goals in his own right, Holohan has been at the very heart of his side’s best performances this season, and his influence over Sunday’s fixture could well have a large say in which team makes the step up the footballing ladder come Sunday evening.

  • The Venue
With Wembley unavailable this time around due to its Euro 2020 commitments, Bristol City’s 27,000 capacity stadium will play host to one of the most important fixtures in the English footballing calendar, and although the venue will only be allowed to accommodate around a quarter of that number of fans this weekend, it will be a familiar destination to a number of key figures in United’s camp.

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Gulls boss Johnson enjoyed a hugely successful five-year spell in BS3 between 2005-2010, as he followed up promotion from League One in his first full season in charge by going close to leading the side all the way to the Premier League, with only the heartbreaking defeat by Hull City at Wembley denying them.

Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Jake Andrews, who have played starring roles in Torquay’s successes this season, are two others who are used to calling the stadium home, having both learned their trades at City, prior to arriving at Plainmoor.

  • The Trophy

Although all attention will be focused on the prize of promotion, the accompanying Bob Lord Trophy – which marks the appropriate team’s success – is a worthy addition to any trophy cabinet.

Initially presented to the winner of the Conference’s League Cup competition, Sunday’s silverware is named in honour of the legendary former Burnley chairman, who also served as the first President of the Alliance Premier League (now National League) in 1979.

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Those under the Wembley arch twelve years ago witnessed Paul Buckle’s side lift the trophy after defeating Cambridge to gain promotion, and the Yellow Army will be dearly be hoping to witness similar scenes in Bristol on Sunday.

United’s day with destiny has nearly arrived…

Come On You Yellows!


 
National League Team of the Season - Announced yesterday.

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Congratulations to the following winners, voted for by the 22 National division clubs!

GK: Ben Hinchliffe (Stockport County)
RB: Jeff King (FC Halifax Town)
LB: David Ferguson (Hartlepool United)
CB: Ben Goodliffe (Sutton United
CB: Liam Hogan (Stockport County)
RM: David Ajiboye (Sutton United)
LM: Harry Beautyman (Sutton United)
CM: John Rooney (Stockport County)
CM: Connor Lemonheigh-Evans (Torquay United)
ST: Michael Cheek (Bromley)
ST: Kabongo Tshimange (Boreham Wood)
 
After a long hard season - its all down to 90 minutes.
Destination - The Football League!!!!!
 
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