Hartlepool United v Aldershot Town
National League
Saturday 8th February 2020, 3pm
Victoria Park
In Opposition
Aldershot Town finished inside the relegation zone last season but were given a reprieve and allowed to stay in the fifth tier following Gateshead's demotion.
The uncertainty meant that planning for 2019/20 became a
little tricky for The Shots and, as a result, they got off to a pretty slow
start and found themselves in the bottom four again at the end of August.However, things have improved as the season has gone on for
the Hampshire outfit, who appointed former Braintree boss Danny Searle as their
new Manager in April following Gary Waddock's departure.They arrive at The Vic this weekend having tasted defeat
just once in their last eight games and, while they don't tend to score many
away from home, they have been hard to beat on their travels.One To Watch
Ethan Chislett has become very popular with Aldershot Town fans since returning to the Club where he was on the books as a youngster.
The skilful midfielder was in The Shots Academy until the
age of 15 before moving on to enjoy a successful spell with Metropolitan
Police.He also spent time in the colours of Basingstoke Town but
returned to Aldershot during the summer and has so far hit nine goals in the
National League so Pools will have to keep an eye on him this weekend.Head To Head
Saturday's game will be the 62nd competitive meeting between the two clubs and it's Aldershot who have the better record having won 27 of the previous encounters in comparison to Pools' 20 triumphs.
Indeed, The Shots have held the upper hand over the last two
seasons when the sides have shared a division, doing the double over us during
the 2017/18 campaign.Pools' 3-0 win at The EBB Stadium in October was the firsttime we've beaten them since an FA Cup tie at The Vic back in December 2004.
Last Meeting
Aldershot Town 0 Pools 3
Saturday 12th October 2019
Aldershot Town: Walker, Kinsella, Lyons-Foster, Hunt, Tinkler, Santos, Chislett (Eyoma 84), Berkeley-Agyepong (Shields 84), Powell, Mullings (Rance 75), Bettamer.
Subs not used: Finney, Whittingham.
Pools: Killip, Kioso, Raynes, Kerr, Kitching, Featherstone, Mafuta, Hawkes (Holohan 75), Donaldson (Kennedy 89), Toure (James 65), Kabamba.
Subs not used: Richardson, Cunningham.
On The Whistle
Andrew Kitchen is to make his third visit of the season to Victoria Park this weekend when he takes charge of our meeting with Aldershot Town.
Still in his first season on the National League's list of
referees, Kitchen previously saw us lost to Bromley back in August and to
Harrogate Town on New Year's Day.His most recent appointment came at Wrexham last weekendwhen he watched their 0-0 draw with Dagenham & Redbridge.
Live Commentary
Midfielder Gavan Holohan will be part of our commentary team for live coverage of Saturday's game against Aldershot Town here on the Official Website.
Holohan is suspended at the weekend so he will be behind the
microphone and alongside Mark Simpson on Saturday to give his views on the
action as it unfolds.Click here now to access the live online commentary.
Buying Tickets
Tickets for Saturday's game are available in advance online or from the Club's Ticket Office, while there will also be availability on the day of the game.
Click here for all the information you need on buying tickets for Saturday.
Betting Odds
Pools 51/50
Aldershot 12/5
Draw 12/5
Click here for a full list of markets and odds ahead of Saturday's game.