Hartlepool boss Dave Challinor reflects on ‘a brilliant day for the club’

Dave Challinor was satisfied with the performance of his Hartlepool players on a “brilliant day” that saw Gavan Holohan’s late goal snatch a 1-0 win against Crawley on their return to the EFL.

Challinor could not hide his delight on the touchline when midfielder Holohan chested down new loan signing Tyler Burey’s cross before firing the ball into the bottom corner in the 88th minute.

It was a fair outcome too, with Hartlepool the more dangerous and creating the better chances.

Challinor, whose side went up via the National League play-offs in June, said: “It should be the perfect afternoon for everyone. We can get better and we will get better.

“It was a brilliant day for the club, for the supporters and it was important we sent them away happy. We managed to do that and I’d have taken that.

“I thought we started the game really well. We should have scored after 10 seconds, 20 minutes and for 25 we were really good. Then we showed some bad decisions in possession and gave them a leg up.

“The second half wasn’t a great spectacle, we defended a bit deep. You make substitutes to try to snatch the game late on, it was tight, and we’ve got a goal, a scrappy goal or a good goal makes no difference.

“We are off the mark, three points and a clean sheet. Lots of promise as well and a special occasion becomes a memorable one with that goal.”

While Victoria Park went crazy following Holohan’s dramatic winner, Crawley were left frustrated.

The visitors did not record a shot on target over the 90 minutes and reminded manager John Yems of last season’s finish when they only won two of their last 13 games.

Yems, who cut his post-match interview short, said: “You think it was a hard-working performance? All the bad habits from last year. I feel sorry for the fans who travelled and I travelled up with some of them.

“I’m fed up saying the same. It isn’t good enough. No excuses, it wasn’t about quality. They won’t let you play, we’ve said it all the time, win the battles.

“We have to improve all areas and improve greatly. I travelled up with a lot of fans and I travel back with them – I feel for them.

“We are at home on Tuesday and the fans will get behind us, fans love it, but we have to play for them and I’ve got the hump. I’m annoyed. That isn’t us, I’m sorry but that isn’t us.”