Hull City 1 (Eyre 68)
Att. 4,364
Not Used - Bracey, Whitmore
Rodney Rowe and Lee Philpott took up places on the bench, returning from injury, but manager Brian Little fielded the same side that defeated Scunthorpe 2 goals to 1 the previous Saturday. Neil Mann and Gary Fletcher must have been disappointed at not making the final 16.
Both teams started the game as it would continue for the full 90 minutes. Action swayed from end to end, and although the home side had slightly more territorial advantage, they made too many mistakes and never looked like scoring. City always looked to counter attack and Kevin Francis was working overtime with John Eyre upfront, trying to get the Tigers attacking as a force. But the half created no real clear cut chances for City, and only one for Hartlepool. This cam shortly before half time, when Ian Goodison missed a cross, and Paul Musselwhite made a fantastic save at the back post, getting low down to deflect the ball clear. The City rearguard was otherwise on top form, especially Justin Whittle. He did not make one mistake all afternoon.
The second period was a different story. City showed they were capable of scoring during a scramble inside the Pool area from a corner. Keeper Tony Williams tried to get to the ball in vain on a couple of occasions, and one header was cleared off the line. The scramble ended when smart defending caused Kevin Francis to head over from close range.
But the Tigers went ahead in the 68th minute. Francis beat a Poolie to the ball in midfield and flicked it on. John Eyre raced forward and bravely beat the keeper Williams to the ball on the corner of the area, before knocking it in high from a tight angle.
Hartlepool nearly immediately hit back a couple of minutes later but saw a header hit the bar and go over.
Francis received a standing ovation en route to being replaced by Rowe, and Lormor, who should have been booked for twice clattering Ian Goodison, was subbed for the home side.
City almost went 2-0 up in the last 10 minutes, but Andy Holt saw his drifting cross hit the far post and bounce back straight to a Pool defender. Lee Philpott came on for Mark Atkins, and in the dying minutes, David Brown replaced John Eyre.
The home side could not capitalise on 4 minutes of stoppage time and the whistle blew to euphoria and chants of "we are going up" from the gleeful City fans in the Rink End. The whole team was outstanding, and as I previously mentioned, Justin Whittle in particular did not put a foot wrong all afternoon. He was superb.
Bring on York, bring on Dolan.
