Sheffield Utd see off Hartlepool

Jamal Campbell-Ryce's late strike ensured Hartlepool began life after Colin Cooper with a 2-1 JPT loss to Sheffield United.

Cooper resigned on Saturday as a listless Pools slipped to the bottom of the Football League with a 3-0 defeat to Carlisle. And despite a brighter showing under caretaker bosses Sam Collins and Stephen Pears, the hosts succumbed to their League One opponents when Campbell-Ryce fired home an 82nd-minute winner after Michael Duckworth's first goal for Pools had cancelled out Jose Baxter's opener. The hosts began brightly - although the more threatening early moments came from the visitors, illustrated when Louis Reed hit just wide from 12 yards. Baxter did not make the same mistake, producing a pin-point side-footed finish to beat Scott Flinders in the 30th minute. Whatever Pools' managers said at half-time did the trick as Duckworth's long-range effort took a huge deflection to beat Iain Turner five minutes after the restart. That they stayed level was thanks to superb work from Flinders, who produced a brilliant double save to deny Diego De Girolamo and Chris Porter from point-blank range. Pools looked the better side from then on but, after Jamie Murphy had rattled the crossbar with a bicycle kick, Campbell-Ryce's powerful effort slid under Flinders to secure Sheffield United's place in the northern quarter-finals.