Hartlepool United 3 Harrogate Town 1: Sorry Sulphurites dumped out of the FA Cup

Coming off the back of arguably their finest showing of the season to date in their previous outing, the Sulphurites never got going at Victoria Park, losing 3-1 to League Two’s bottom side.

Despite there being just the one change to the starting XI which came flying out of the blocks and raced into a two-goal lead against Mansfield, Simon Weaver’s team’s first-half display couldn’t have been any further removed from the football they produced just seven days earlier.

Sluggish both in and out of possession and sloppy with their passing, the visitors were second best throughout the first 45.

Josh Umerah nodded wide early on and tested Pete Jameson with an effort from distance either side of Jake Hastie seeing an effort deflected into the side-netting.

Despite not managing to create anything resembling a decent chance of their own, Harrogate still looked reasonably comfortable, but as the half wore on and they failed to up the tempo, the hosts visibly began to grow in confidence.

Jameson had to tip Hastie’s daisy-cutter around his post before Pools deservedly broke through on 40 minutes.

Callum Cooke took aim from a free-kick in a central position around 20 yards out and although his blast was straight down the middle of the goal, it proved too hot for Town’s goalkeeper to handle.

Things then got even worse for the Sulphurites in stoppage-time when Umerah got in behind and went down inside the box under the challenge of Mattock.

Referee Sam Purkiss pointed to the spot and also showed Harrogate’s vastly-experienced centre-half a second yellow card before Umerah sent Jameson the wrong way from 12 yards.

The 10 men of Town offered slightly more going forwards in the second period, though in truth, they would have done very well to have functioned as badly as an attacking force as they did prior to the interval.

They eventually tested Hartlepool’s emergency-loan goalkeeper Alex Cairns in the 54th minute, but in his first competitive appearance of 2022/23, the Fleetwood Town stopper gathered Josh Falkingham’s strike from outside the box with ease.

It was however at the other end of the field where goals appeared more likely to materialise, and United did indeed add a third on 71 minutes.

The ball was fed into the feet of Umerah inside the Town box and it was all too easy for Pools’ big number nine to ram an emphatic finish beyond Jameson and into the roof of the net.

Weaver’s men did at least manage to pull one back 60 seconds later, Sam Folarin letting a ball from the right edge of the penalty area run through his legs for fellow substitute Josh Coley to stroke confidently into the far corner.

That was however as good as it got for Harrogate, who could easily have found themselves 4-1 down in the 84th minute when Jack Hamilton directed what should have been a routine close-range finish straight at Jameson.

The visitors should have reduced the deficit to one on 90 minutes, though both Folarin and Luke Armstrong somehow failed to get on the end of Tyler Frost’s inviting low cross from the right with the goal gaping.

Defeat sees Harrogate miss out on a potential third-round tie with one of English football’s heavyweights, plus £67,000 in prize money.