Pools - Darlington, Derby Day Preview

By Albatross
September 13 2002

It's time for the match that both sets of fans have been waiting for: Pools play Darlington in the first derby match of the season. At stake are three league points, and bragging rights to the victorious fans - so who will it be? Albatross marks your card for the big match...

The buildup seems to have been going on since the Fixture List came out, people on both sides have been spouting off, but at 3 o'clock on Saturday there will finally be "A little less conversation, a little more action" as Pools take on Darlington at the Vic. So what can we expect from our local rivals?

Currently they sit in 12th position, but they have played a game less than all the teams above them; their home game last weekend against Wrexham was called off due to International Callups from their opponents. Three points in that match would have put them in 6th place at the moment. Their current tally of 9 points is five less than Pools - but again, a win would have seen that down to two.

A good win away to Cambridge gave the Feethams Faithful much to be pleased about, and Darlo have only lost one of their 6 league games so far; however, they have also drawn three times and lost 1-0 at home to Oxford. A solid start then, without really setting the division alight. Defensively they have done well, conceding 6 goals (the same as Pools) but they are finding goals a little harder to come by than us, notching eight so far - we had nine after our first six games. Both teams have played Swansea, Carlisle and Oxford, with Pools having played all three away for a return of 7 points against the Loids total of 4 from three home matches against those sides.

Both Pools and Darlo lost to Second Division opponents in the Worthington Cup in midweek, Pools fans maybe being the slightly more annoyed after pushing Tranmere all the way and being denied a couple of late Penalty appeals that would have sent the game into extra time. Gordon Watson sat the game out for Pools, but should resume his place up front at the expense of Adam Boyd.

Time for a few cliches then: Derby matches see the form book go out of the window, they are usually tight games, and whoever wants it more will win it. This may sound a bit bizarre, but even when Derby Games are one-sided they tend to be tight; anyone who saw the game at Feethams two years ago when Andy Collett saved their bacon will know that, and people with longer memories may remember the game at the Vic during the Promotion season when a similarly inspired performance from Mark Prudhoe saw Darlington escape with a 0-0 draw from a game that they were never in!

The battle in the Midfield will be vital, and a lot may depend on the system that CT decides to go for. Darlingon are potentially very strong down the flanks, with the likes of Wainwright, Hadland, Clark and Rundle; playing 4-4-2 would give us more protection in the wide areas, but with Paul Smith out we would have to play the likes of Humphreys and Clarke out wide when both are maybe more comfortable - and effective - in the middle. On the other hand, 3-5-2 would see our central three up against a midfield two for Darlington which could mean we can play effectively down the middle. Ford v Tinkler should be an interesting confrontation; and Maddison seems to be finally showing the sort of form that Darlington fans were hoping for when he signed. Jon Cullen is also on a month's contract at Feethams, and would no doubt relish the opportunity to play at the Vic again.

I personally would go for 4-4-2, with Humphreys wide left, Clarke wide right, and Tinks and Widds in the middle; plenty of battling quality for a game that will almost certainly need it.

On the Goalscoring front, Darlington have three players who have scored twice: the Ginger Ginola Clarky, Ashley Nicholls, and Glenn Naylor. There is every chance that the only one to start against Pools will be Clark, with the others on the bench; and with Conlon not exactly prolific, working out where the goals will come from may be Darlington's problem. In comparison, Flash has already netted five times for Pools, Williams has got a couple, Tinkler currently has three, and Humphreys has also notched twice.

Darlington's defence has caused them some concern this season, but they have still only conceded six in the league. Clarke hasn't won too many admirers, and an Own Goal at Huddersfield won't have helped matters; and their full backs are also regarded as a bit suspect. Pools also suffer in that area, but have a very strong central pairing in Lee and Westwood, both of whom are playing very well.

Time to stick my neck out then! It will be a tight game, there will be at least one penalty turned down that one side will swear blind should have been given, but I fancy Pools to just shade it 2-1, with Watson and Clarke to score.