Pools chicken out of appeal

Hartlepool United have decided not to appeal against the red card shown to Nathan Luscombe in saturday's home League One draw with Walsall - and they should hang their heads in shame for such a decision.

Pools boss Mick Wadsworth says Luscombe was  harshly dealt with by ref Paul Tierney when he and  Walsall skipper Andy Butler went for a 50-50 ball.

Neither the resultant challenge nor the melee that followed were pretty, but neither player deserved a red, or even a yellow come to that. The ref got it blatantly wrong, but Pools are allowing him to get away with his error.

Tierney appeared to be in a hurry to produce the reds for a challenge that was clumsy more than  brutal, just as he was quick to give Walsall their early penalty for a clearance by Paul Murray as Matt Saddler steamed in behind him and caught a boot in the gob.

Again, it looked far worse than it was – Saddler got caught, yes, but how many pro footballers, especially those with Murray’s experience, would purposefully kick an opponent in the face in his own penalty area?

Mr Tierney did not cover himself in credit, but he is being allowed to get away with a rank bad decision on Luscombe’s red card because Pools are scared the player’s automatic three-game ban could be increased if they fail.

Scaredy cats.

Meanwhile, Gary Liddle showed true grit on Saturday by playing for all but the opening few seconds with a fractured cheekbone. He took a knock in a very early challenge, but went back after treatment to finish the game, only to learn afterwards that he had a broken bone.

With Luscombe banned and a string of other players injured at the weekend, Pools are being forced into changes for Tuesday night’s home game with much-fancied Huddersfield, managed by that friend of all Sunderland fans, Lee (the Mag) Clark.