Referee Gifts Hartlepool 3 Points

Swindon Town suffer their first loss in 5 games after referee Andy Hall gave Hartlepool the worst penalty decision known to man to the visitors.

Both teams were incredibly poor however Town got plenty of balls in the box, they just failed to convert their chances.

Kevin Amankwaah missed a sitter about 5 minutes into the game after failing to put home a Simon Cox cross into the box early on.

Both teams played incredibly boring and poor football but Town looked as if they would take the lead as Billy Paynter broke free however his shot was saved by Pools keeper Arran Lee-Barrett after Paynter scuffed the shot.

Hal Robson-Kanu who would break into midfield around the 30 minute mark but once again appeared to be trying to hit the clock on the Stratton Bank as he fired a shot to wards the moon. We hear it still has yet to land.

The often injured and former Town midfielder Andy Monkhouse came close to scoring for the second time against Town since securing a permanent move to Victoria Park but saw his effort go wide of the goal despite having a open shot.

Both teams go into half time 0-0 with either team failing to give fans anything to write home about.

HALF TIME: Swindon Town 0 – Hartlepool United 0

The second half started with Swindon having the better possession but then “referee” Andy Hall decided that Hartlepool United should have the majority of the decisions, seemingly because they had travelled so far on a Tuesday night.

Hall would give Hartlepool many free kicks which the visitors failed to convert. Town boss Danny Wilson decided to change things on 61 minutes taking off Amankwaah who had done well for the speedy Anthony McNamee, Billy Paynter would also make way for Lee Peacock who was better off on the bench.

The addition of McNamee lifted the crowd and the players with the former Watford winger making an immediate impact with his pace however Hartlepool soon sussed him out and had 2 players on him. This did not deter Town who decided to still try and pass the ball to him.

On 72 minutes Town made their final substitution bringing on young Chris Allen for the lethargic Patrick Kanyuka who was largely absent for the game.

Shortly after Swindon had their best chance to take all three points as Lee Peacock fired a powerful shot but it was straight at Lee-Barrett who comfortably dove on top of the ball ending the danger for Hartlepool.

The rest of the match just became an absolute farce by the referee who clearly wanted to be the centre of attention. During the 7,200,624 free kicks given to Hartlepool, The Pools suffered another injury blow as Daniel Nardiello had to come off with an injury.

On 90 minutes the game looked as if it was heading for a bore draw until The referee made the stupidest call of his career, awarding Hartlepool a penalty after Jerel Ifil cleared the ball.

Even the Hartlepool players were expecting a free kick, no Hartlepool player challenged the referee to protest their should be a penalty.

Up stands Ben Clark who manages to slip the ball past a diving Peter Brezovan to send both the Hartlepool fans into raptures.

The final whistle blew shortly there after with the referee feeling proud of his “good nights work” whilst feeling the wrath of the Town fans.

By no means should Swindon have won, but neither should Hartlepool. Both teams were incredibly poor on the night

FULL TIME: Swindon Town 0 – Andy Hall on behalf of Hartlepool United 1