Ten-man Pools were punished with two late goals from former loan man Neil Danns as Colchester United took all three points from the game at Layer Road this evening.
With Darren Williams seeing red mid-way through the second half, Paul Stephenson's men were left with too tough a test as they worked hard to keep out a lively Colchester side.
Pools had to withstand a lot of early pressure from the hosts this evening as The U's set their stall out from kick off and worked hard to test Dimi Konstantopoulos.
And the Pools defence did well to stand up to the test - with the ball cleared off the line twice within the opening twenty minutes.
It was Billy Clarke, who was a real menace for the home side in the opening exchanges, who was first to test Konstantopoulos but the young forward saw his effort from distance edge over the bar.
And it was Clarke who created the next real opening for the hosts when he showed good pace to burst forward and play the ball into the path of former Pools' loan man Neil Danns but he saw his low drive go just wide of the far post.
But the hosts continued to drive forward and looked set to take the lead when Mark Yeates powered into the area from the left and powered a shot at goal which looked set to hit the back of the net until Ritchie Humphreys threw himself in at the ball and cleared it onto the bar and out. Greg Halford ran in to smash the rebound but Konstantopoulos reacted well to clear it with an outstretched foot,
And if that wasn't enough goal-mouth drama - just minutes later and Lee Bullock popped up just on time to clear a low effort from Danns from the line as it powered through a crowded area.
The hosts continued to look lively as the half progressed and, when Chris Iwelumo found himself through on goal, he saw his chance slip through the legs of the Pools' keeper but, fortunately it took enough of a deflection off the big keeper to just edge over the bar.
Although more of the chances fell to the home side, Pools did have their fair share of possession with Thomas Butler once again posing the biggest threat. But there were few real chances for Pools to break through - with a Michael Maidens effort from distance providing the first real test for Aidan Davison in the home goal.
Things looked brighter for Pools after the break as they looked to have a renewed determination to break the deadlock. A left-wing Humphreys corner just after the re-start led to a desperate goal-mouth scramble as a number of Pools' players got involved to try and tip the ball over the line. With Michael Nelson, Ben Clark and Michael Proctor all trying to get the final clinical touch and Bullock seeing his header crash against the bar - Pools went agonisingly close to getting the opener.
However, just as Pools looked set to up their game, they were dealt a blow when, just minutes after being booked for one foul, Darren Williams tangled with Billy Clarke as the youngster ran through on goal and the referee showed no hesitation in reaching into his top pocket and showing the defender the red card.
Ten-man Pools worked hard to try and keep The U's at bay - even going agonisingly close to opening the scoring when a Bullock cross was met by the head of Butler but the Irish winger saw his chance crash against the crossbar and come back into play.
And, just minutes later, there was a similar scenario at the other end when Danns saw his effort hit the bar and rebound back into play. But this proved to be merely a warning to Pools as the next attack saw the ball whipped into the area and Danns made no mistake this time as he directed his header firmly into the back of the Pools' net to give the hosts the lead.
Danns made it 2-0 on the 90th minute when Clarke broke down the left to whip another searching ball into the area and the former Blackburn Rovers man thundered a drive through a crowded area and past the outstretched arms of Konstantopoulos.
Eifion Williams went close to grabbing a late consolation for Pools when he powered a looping effort at goal from the edge of the area in the closing seconds and, although the ball crashed against the bar and looked to land just over the line, the Assistant Referee was behind play and did not signal the goal.
Disappointment once more for Pools after another gutsy display as the remaining games in which to edge clear of danger become less and less. But Paul Stephenson will insist his players now turn their attention to their next target - a result against Bristol City at The Vic on Saturday afternoon.
Pools: Konstantopoulos, D Williams, Nelson, Clark, Humphreys, Maidens, Bullock, S Turnbull, Butler (Brown), Boyd (Barron), Proctor (E Williams)
Subs: Provett, Tinkler
Colchester United: Davison, Halford, Danns, Brown, Watson, Duguid, Iwelumo (Vernon), Baldwin (Thorpe), Yeates, Chilvers, Clarke
Subs: Gerken, White, Richards
