Following Saturday's last-minute win against Crawley Town, Hartlepool United are hoping to keep the momentum going on their return to League Cup action (7pm KO). Pools face a Crewe Alexandra side that are 15th in League One following their opening weekend draw with Cheltenham.
We are also delighted to announce that the Match sponsor will be Acland Homes.
The Opposition
Crewe are led by manager Dave Artell, a former promotion-winner with the-Alex during his playing career. As well as spells with Port Vale, Wrexham, and Mansfield, Artell also gained seven caps for Gibraltar, including a match against then-World Champions, Germany.
In goal, Crewe have Will Jääskeläinen, son of former Bolton, Wigan, and West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen. At the other end of the pitch, experienced striker Chris Porter leads the line, while one-time Pools loanee Mikael Mandron is also in the squad.
The History
This will be the 137th meeting between the two sides and the first since 2017. In the past, Crewe have won 63 times, Pools have won 47 times, and the sides have played out a draw on 26 occasions.
Team News
Aside from long-term absentee Joe Grey, all of the players in Dave Challinor's squad are available for selection, including recent signings Jonny Mitchell, Mark Cullen, and Jake Lawlor. With the games coming thick and fast for Pools, Challinor may decide to shuffle his pack to keep key players fit.
Commentary
Due to the EFL regulations, Mixlr audio commentary is now a subscription-based product. You can purchase a matchday audio pass from the link below. Once you have purchased your audio ticket, you will be sent a link and a code. Click the link, enter the code and the commentary will be available. Available from £2.50 per game.
Live from 6.40pm:
https://poolsretail.com/products/mixlr-audio-match-pass-crewe-alexandra
Information for Fans
The club are aware of issues which affected some supporters in some areas of the ground and would like to apologise to those fans affected and outline some of the steps we are taking to resolve this.
With regards to queuing in some areas to get into the ground, a number of our turnstile ticket scanning systems had technical issues and some turnstiles stopped working altogether. The system was tested several times in the lead-up to the game so it is frustrating that this happened. We have been working with our system providers to resolve this over the weekend and on Monday, so are hopeful that we won't experience these same issues.
With regards to some bars being understaffed, unfortunately, we had around a third of our scheduled bar staff either phone in sick or not turn up at all. This obviously impacted our planned operations significantly and meant that service was slower in some areas. We are continuing to try and recruit new matchday staff for bars and catering areas – if anyone is interested please e-mailenquiries@hartlepoolunited.co.uk
There was higher than expected queuing for the Teesside International Airport (Millhouse) ticket office. To help resolve this in the future, we will have an additional sale point available at this ticket office to ensure faster service. This ticket office will remain CARD ONLY, with the only ticket office accepting cash being the main ticket office on Clarence Road. We will also have clear signage in place going forward on the outside of the ticket office to communicate this to those queuing in this area. We would continue to encourage fans to purchase tickets before the matchday wherever possible.
We are aware of issues with some fans sitting in the wrong seats and some fans not taking to their seats – and have had a number of messages from fans on this. We have been in discussion with our stewarding company regarding this and plans are in place to ensure that there is tighter controls in place regarding this.
We are also working on a number of additional improvements which will be in place before the Walsall game which will include additional ticket collection points, improved stewarding operations, and additional bar and food kiosks. We will update you on these ahead of the Walsall game.
Turnstiles
Turnstiles open 5.30pm.
Turnstiles will now operate with specific concession queues; please ensure you bring ID if you are using a concession ticket.
Concessions entry: C3,C5,C7,N13,N14,N5,N6*
Adults entry: C4, C6, C8, N11, N12, N3, N4
Away fans will enter the ground via turnstile C1 on Clarence Road.
Home disabled supporters now have access through gate number 1 in the South-East Corner which will be stewarded. Away disabled supporters have access through the North-West Corner gates via the car park.
*Adults will be permitted through the concessions turnstiles if they are accompanying a valid concession.
Tickets
Tickets can be bought on the day from either the ticket office on Clarence Road or the ticket office on the Neale Cooper Stand.
Ticket Office (Clarence Road) 10am-7pm
Ticket Office (Neale Cooper stand) 5.30pm-7pm
The Neale Cooper Stand ticket office will operate a cashless policy and tickets will be processed through the correct system, accepting card payments only.
Adults: £15
Concessions: £10
Armed forces: £10
If you are sitting in the Neale Cooper Stand and looking to collect tickets, you can do so via the Neale Cooper Ticket Office.
Hospitality and Bars
Hospitality in both the Maidens Lounge and the Executive Lounge will be open from 4.30pm via Gate 2 on the Cyril Knowles side of the ground. Both will close at 10.30pm.
The Centenary Bar and Club 1908 will both be open from 5pm 'til late.
Pools happy hour in both bars will be from 5-6pm, offering £1 reduction from the usual price of selected draft and bottled products.
Both home and away fans are welcome in the Centenary Bar.
It is not too late to book hospitality through the link below:
Kiosk, Bar and Catering
All Kiosk, Bar and Catering areas will be open from 5.30pm till kick-off and then once again open at halftime.
Club Shop
The club shop will be open from 12-7pm.
Programmes and lottery
Matchday lottery tickets will be available around the ground for £1. Matchday programmes will not be available for cup games.
Parking
Clarence Road will be closed between 5pm and 9.45pm for a 7pm kick off. You can book car parking for either one game or a seasonal pass by emailing:
enquiries@hartlepoolunited.co.uk
Volunteering
Should anyone wish to volunteer on a matchday, please express your interest to: