After two disappointing results, Hartlepool United travel to
Aldershot Town knowing that only wins can secure a positive conclusion to the
season. Pools have only lost two games in their last 18, but they'll have to
bounce back after a bad day at the office when they hosted Maidenhead United
last week.The Opposition
Aldershot have won two of their last five, defeating Yeovil
and Wealdstone. In that period, they've also drawn against King's Lynn and been
beaten by Barnet and play-off hopefuls Torquay. The Shots currently sit 15thin the league, 11 points from the last play-off place with just 12 to play for.The team is lead by Danny Searle, formerly of Braintree
Town. Aldershot's squad features former Leeds United, Fulham, and Scotland
striker Ross McCormack, though the 35 year old has only featured twice this
season.The History
This will be the ninth meeting between the sides, with Pools
winning four of the previous encounters. Two games have ended in a draw, while
Aldershot have claimed all three points in the other matches. Most recently,
Dave Challinor's men ran out 2-1 victors in October. A penalty from Nicky
Featherstone and a goal from April's National League Player of the Month, Gavan
Holohan, gave Pools a win at The Vic in the opening game of the season.Team News
Gary Liddle, Lewis Cass, and Luke Armstrong are all expected
to be in contention for a start after missing out on a place last weekend.
Liddle has now served his one-match suspension and Challinor will make a
decision on the fitness of Armstrong and Cass, with the latter hoping to follow
up on a positive second-half display against Maidenhead.Ben Killip and Joe Grey are long-term absentees, butotherwise, there's a full squad to choose from for the three-game run in.
Watch, Listen, and Follow
The game is being streamed on Aldershot's official website, you can pay and watch the game here:
https://aliveandkicking.theshots.co.uk/en-int/playerpage/350880h
To follow audio of the game, the Mixlr stream will be available as usual. This week, Alex Chandy is joined by Robbie Stelling.
https://mixlr.com/hartlepool-united/
Updates will also be posted on our Twitter feed, withcoverage starting around 2pm as the team is announced.