We chatted to Keith Nobbs after he took part in the Northern Masters at Newcastle's Metro Arena on Sunday evening and he gave us a game-by-game rundown of events.

Pools 1 Sunderland 3

"We started off very well and passed it about quite confidently. They got the first goal but we managed to equalise pretty much straight away through Bakes (Paul Baker). However, it seemed as though rather than just being content to keep the ball we were pushing forward a little too much and got caught on the break a couple of times with former Pools man Marco Gabbiadini getting on the scoresheet.

"It was disappointing to lose as in the first half especially I thought we played well but it showed us that the pitch is a little bigger than it look and you need to be more compact at the back and look to rely on the counter-attack. It's always important to get off to a good start but we were chasing a little after that."

Pools 1 Newcastle 1

"We were a lot more compact at the back and keeper Simon Bishop played really well, making some outstanding saves - I thought he was our Player of the Tournament. Once we started playing we realised that we needed to rotate our players a lot quicker and that seemed to help on the fitness side.

"It seemed as though the former Pools players were following us about a bit and Steve Howey popped up at the front post to score the first goal. We kept our discipline though and Dalts (Paul Dalton) got us back in it - he's very tricky and he managed to jink past his man and fire a shot through the crowd and in to the net. After that both teams kept the ball quite well and were difficult to break down.

"We were upbeat after that result and were confident we could get something from our last game - though we knew had to win."

Pools 0 Middlesbrough 2

"I think because we were chasing things a little bit we were leaving ourselves a little more exposed at the back. We should have been content to leave on man up front and look to counter-attack through Dalts and Robbie (McKinnon). Once we went a goal behind we pushed forward even more but to be fair Middlesbrough kept the ball very well and they broke on us very quickly.

"Craig Hignett has been a pro player very recently and he get up and down a bit quicker than the rest of us and by that time we were wearing lead boots which didn't help!

Summary

"It was a very enjoyable experience and now I know that you can't just turn up with two weeks preparation - you need to be playing five-a-sides and keeping your eye in. I think you also need to rotate players frequently - it also helps if you have some under 40s in your team!

"It was a very well run tournament though and the Pools fans were exceptional again and gave us great support. You could hear them in every game - hopefully next year we can get a win and really give them something to cheer about.

"I'm going to have to put my feet up for a few days now as I've never been as tired after a game of football but it was great to catch up with some old friends and chat about the good times."