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Tuesday April 30th 2002

Third Division Play Off Semi-Final, second leg

CHELTENHAM TOWN v HARTLEPOOL UNITED

Cheltenham Town  1 (Williams 26)

Book, Griffin, Duff, Walker, Victory, Williams (sub: Devaney 76 min), Finnigan, Yates, Milton (sub: Lee 86 min), Naylor (sub: Grayson 76 min), Alsop.

Booked: Victory, Yates

Hartlepool United  1  (Arnison 17)

A. Williams, Lee, Westwood, Barron, Arnison, Stephenson, Clarke, Humphreys, Smith, E. Williams (sub: Henderson 78 min), Watson. 

Booked: Watson, Arnison, E. Williams, Barron, Lee

Half-time: 1-1

Attendance: 7,165

Aggregate score: 2-2, Cheltenham won 5-4 on penalties

The visitors took early control of the proceedings coming close to scoring three times before Paul Arnison gave them the lead in the seventeenth minute. Stephenson's free kick was cleared to the edge of the penalty area from were Arnison hit a scorcher to open the scoring. The goal kick-started Cheltenham with Lee Williams equalising with a shot that went in off the crossbar.

Hartlepool had the better of the second half but failed to capitalise on that advantage with no further goals being scored in the 90 minutes or during extra time.

Then came the drama of the penalty-out. Neil Grayson, Martyn Lee, Mark Yates, John Finnigan and Julian Alsop all scored for Cheltenham, Michael Duff missing his. Paul Stephenson also missed for Hartlepool but it was Richie Humphreys effort that hit the crossbar when the proceedings had reached the sudden-death stage that finally settled the matter for the home side.