Tamworth are back on the road this weekend following their midweek victory at home to Sutton United. They travel to Victoria Park to take on Hartlepool United, looking to grab their first away win of the campaign.

The opposition

Hartlepool United are one of several ex-EFL sides to be competing in this season’s Enterprise National League. They were founded in the early part of the 20th century, and spent three decades in the fourth division between the 1960’s and the 1990’s, aside from one season that earnt them promotion to Division Three.

They grew further in the 1990s and 2000s, becoming a consistent League One side, but after three seasons avoiding the drop out of the Football League, they were relegated to the National League in 2017. After initially gaining promotion back to League Two, they since returned to the fifth tier and are now in their fourth season at the level.

DID YOU KNOW: Hartlepool United’s formal nickname is Pools, however, they are colloquially known as the Monkey Hangers. This is believed to have originated from a time in the 18th century, during the French Revolution, when a group of locals thought a monkey was a French spy, and therefore decided to sentence it to a public hanging.

Who’s in the dugout?

Pete Wild agreed to join Pools earlier this week, with Saturday’s match against Tamworth being his first game in charge. He has previous experience at Tranmere Rovers, Fleetwood Town, Barrow and FC Halifax Town.

Ones to watch

Will Harris – A player with plenty of National League experience, and currently sits top of the goalscoring charts for Hartlepool.

Brooklyn Ilunga – The wing-back/winger that has bagged two assists so far this season for the Pools.

The season so far

20 | Tamworth | P11 W3 D2 L6 | GF 19 | GA 28 | GD -9 | PTS 11
22 | Hartlepool United | P11 W3 D0 L8 | GF 8 | GA 16 | GD -8 | PTS 9

Wed 30 Sep: Tamworth 2-0 Sutton United
Sat 26 Sep: Aldershot Town 5-1 Tamworth
Sat 19 Sep: Tamworth 2-1 Wealdstone
Tue 15 Sep: Southend United 3-1 Tamworth
Sat 12 Sep: Harrogate Town 3-1 Tamworth
Tue 29 Sep: Hartlepool United 0-1 Harrogate Town
Sat 26 Sep: Scunthorpe United 4-1 Hartlepool United
Sat 19 Sep: Hartlepool United 1-3 Worthing
Wed 16 Sep: Altrincham 2-1 Hartlepool United
Fri 11 Sep: Kidderminster Harriers 2-0 Hartlepool United

Peaks Speaks on the last game

“That was what we’re all about. That’s what I want us to be like from the first minute to the last. Loads of energy, pressing the ball, good shape, looking dangerous when we went forward, people doing their jobs, no individual errors, people sticking together, and that’s what we’re all about. That is our blueprint.”

Elsewhere this weekend

Aldershot Town v Carlisle United
Barrow v Wealdstone
Boreham Wood v Altrincham
Eastleigh v Woking
Gateshead v Worthing
Harrogate Town v Hornchurch
Kidderminster Harriers v Sutton United
Scunthorpe United P-P Forest Green Rovers (International call-ups)
Solihull Moors v FC Halifax Town
Southend United v AFC Fylde
Yeovil Town v Boston United