Pools cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Cheltenham Town at The Vic this evening.
Goals from James Brown, Andy Monkhouse, Michael Mackay and an own goal were just rewards for Danny Wilson's men after a confident and entertaining display on a night in which both teams had some very poor conditions to deal with as torrential rain hammered down throughout the game.
The visitors really burst out of the blocks this evening - testing Arran Lee-Barrett with two stinging shots inside the first couple of minutes.
Lloyd Owusu was first to test the keeper when he bust forward into the box to fire in low at goal but Lee-Barrett was alert and reacted well to block the effort around the post.
The resulting corner found Michael Townsend in the centre of the area and he drilled a powerful effort goalwards which looked set to be heading in until Lee-Barrett once again showed good reactions to block.
But domination of the opening few minutes was about it for the visitors in the first half as Pools really upped their pressure and went on to control proceedings.
Joel Porter was the biggest threat to Cheltenham this evening as he looked a danger with every attack - the lively Aussie floated a great ball into the box for strike partner James Brown but his diving header went just wide of the far post.
As conditions worsened inside The Vic, Pools' pressure increased and with James Brown and Antony Sweeney joining Porter in really pressing the visiting defence, it seemed inevitable that an opener would arrive.
And it did in the 19th minute of play; when Andy Monkhouse was fouled just to the left of the box, Jamie McCunnie stepped up to take the free kick.
The right back lifted a teasing ball into the area which caused something of a scramble in the box with Porter and Liddle trying to force it over the line only for the visiting defence to cannon the ball back out - but when James Brown picked up possession around 15 yards out of goal, he made no mistake as he smashed home past Shane Higgs for his 4th goal of the season.
And Wilson's side should well have had another goal for all of the pressure before the break - Brown shot at goal through a crowded area but his effort and, though his shot was deflected into the path of the arriving Porter at the far post, his final effort scraped narrowly wide of the post.
Andy Monkhouse had his chance to add to the scoresheet when he picked up possession from a Brown cross but the left winger's rising shot from just inside the box rose over the bar.
With the conditions inside The Vic continuing to deteriorate, the pitch became increasingly slippery and the visiting defence seemed to struggle to adapt, with some errors allowing Pools yet more chances on goal.
A McCunnie ball into the box from the right was punched unconvincingly by Higgs only to find Brown waiting to volley in on goal - unfortunately the tricky striker's effort scraped narrowly wide of the post.
Cheltenham did have an effort on goal in the one minute of added time at the end of the first half - Jennison Myrie-Williams skipped past Jamie McCunnie to break into the box before cutting the ball back for Barry Hayles but his powerful strike was just wide of Lee-Barrett's left hand post.
But Pools took a well-deserved lead into the second half and got that second goal within three minutes of the re-start.
A ball from Antony Sweeney on the right wing swung into the box, just escaping the attentions of Joel Porter at the near post but as the ball hit the ground at the far post, Andy Gallinagh arrived to cover and his slight touch on the ball took it past Higgs and into the back of the net.
The swirling rain took its toll slightly in the second half but Pools continued to dominate and looked extremely confident in their play.
James Brown took his chances to take on defenders, while Ritchie Humphreys seemed to fancy a goal this evening, adding his weight to the attack at every opportunity.
There was a scare for Wilson's side when a Myrie-Williams corner kick found Gavin Caines rising highest at the far post and his bullet header crashed against the crossbar and bounced back into play.
But Pools made sure of victory just minutes later when, in what was almost a carbon copy of the second goal, Sweeney whipped a ball in from the right after a quickly-taken throw-in from Brown.
Although Sweeney's pacy ball just missed the arriving Joel Porter, this time it found Monkhouse running in at the far post and he simply slotted home past Higgs to make it 3-0.
Joel Porter looked set to get the goal he deserved for his hard work this evening when he latched onto a long ball out of defence to burst forward into the box but with Gavin Caines tracking back with him, the big defender put in a strong challenge to rob possession from the striker.
The introduction of Ashley Vincent by the visitors gave them a definite lift and he looked lively on the left wing, causing Pools some problems and this led to Cheltenham enjoying what was their biggest spell of pressure in the game.
Lee-Barrett did well to block from Connor with his feet, Gary Liddle then did very well to get in the way of a powerful blast from the edge of the area while Caines then hit the woodwork again with a headed effort - this time the ball crashed against the left-hand post of Pools' goal.
Danny Wilson made a substitution of his own in the 85th minute, bringing Michael Mackay onto the field and the striker made an instant impact on the game.
A Jamie McCunnie ball from the right was just touched on by the head of the defender for Mackay who was in the right place to touch it past the keeper and just inside of the far post with his first touch of the game to make it 4-0 to Pools.
Cheltenham town grabbed a last-minute equaliser when Lloyd Owusu rose to fire a header past Lee-Barrett from a corner kick to deny Pools a clean sheet but Wilson's men were more than worthy winners this evening in a game played out in terrible conditions.
Next up for Pools is the visit of Oldham Athletic to The Vic and the supporters will be hoping for more of the same again next Saturday.
Att: 3637 (95 away)
Pools: Lee-Barrett, McCunnie, Nelson, Collins, Humphreys, Sweeney, Jones, Liddle, Monkhouse (Robson 69), Brown (Mackay 85), Porter (Barker 85)
Subs Not Used: Foley, Rowell
Cheltenham Town: Higgs, Wright, Caines, Townsend, Low (Armstrong 74), Bird, Russell, Gallinagh, Hayles (Connor 74), Myrie-Williams (Vincent 74), Owusu
Sub Not Used: Duff, SP Brown
