Hartlepool United 3 Southend United 0

Mar 7 2010 by James Hunter, Sunday Sun

ROY O’DONOVAN may be Sunderland’s forgotten man, but a classy hat-trick against Southend made him an instant hero at Hartlepool.

The Irish striker has fallen from favour since Roy Keane left Wearside and has spent the majority of the last two seasons on loan in the lower divisions or north of the Border.

The latest stop on his loan odyssey is Victoria Park, and after three games for Pools the early signs are that in Chris Turner he has finally found a manager that appreciates him.

Certainly he is more appreciated by Turner than he was by Southend boss Steve Tilson when he spent a difficult spell with the Shrimpers earlier this season – and revenge was sweet.

O’Donovan’s goals gave Hartlepool a priceless victory against struggling Southend, a six-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone and set them on course for the comfortable mid-table finish that Turner is targeting.

“I thought the three goals were all excellent finishes from Roy – he has brought a new dimension to the team and his work ethic has been superb,” said Turner.

“That will do Roy the world of good. Adam Boyd has also done well in recent games, so hopefully they can continue that partnership and get us more goals.”

The win against Southend was Pools’ second successive home win, and while they are the only victories in the last 10 games for Pools, Turner points out that run pitted his side against many of the leading sides in League One while the remaining 14 games pair them with teams beneath or around them in the table.

He said: “Some of our best performances this season have been away but it’s scoring goals at home that give the fans a lift and seven in two games here is great for us. We’ve just come through a very difficult period from all the way back against MK Dons back in January to Millwall last weekend, which saw us play sides such as Charlton, Bristol Rovers and Norwich – all clubs flying high.

“But from now until the end of the season we have got games against teams around us in the table and the opportunities will be there for us.”