Pools were undone this afternoon by a strong MK Dons outfit who left The Vic on the back of a comfortable 5-0 win.
An extremely disappointing afternoon for Chris Turner's men who failed to really test Paul Ince's outfit and were second best in this game - while MK Dons finished with virtually every chance they created, Pools failed to create anything to upset the visitors.
MK Dons started the game at a blistering pace, leaving Pools looking almost shell-shocked.
With just four minutes on the clock, the visitors took the lead and, as is so often the case for a returning player, it was Jermaine Easter who grabbed the opener.
Aaron Wilbraham headed the ball on for Easter inside the area and, despite a hint of offside, play continued and the former Pools man squeezed a ball under the out-coming Flinders and slowly over the line to make it 1-0.
Easter clearly enjoyed the goal against his former club as his signal to the Town End after scoring showed.
The goal only served to lift the visitors further and put Pools further on the back foot as Paul Ince's men ran riot in the opening period.
Joe Gamble, who got more involved in proceedings as the half progressed, did well to intercept a ball into the box as MK Dons pushed on,
Wilbraham tried his luck with a powerful header at goal but Flinders held his effort, while Pools enjoyed a brief passage of play at the other end when Adam Boyd carved out space in the box to cross back into the area but Ritchie Jones' glancing header went wide of target.
With 22 minutes on the clock though, the visitors really turned the screw on Pools as they went 2-0 up.
Luke Chadwick went on a pacy run down the left wing to cut inside and fire on goal, but with Scott Flinders read to collect, Gary Liddle went in to challenge and the ball took a deflection off the Pools man and hit the back of the net.
Just minutes later and Pools could so easily have been facing a three-goal deficit; another defensive mix-up saw Sweeeny and Flinders collide under pressure from Chadwick and the Dons winger picked up a loose ball to fire at an empty net - fortunately Chadwick made it look difficult and hit the post with his effort.
The atmosphere inside The Vic lifted towards the end of the half as Pools fought their way back into the game in terms of possession - the energy and determination of Neil Austin at the heart of the resurgence as the full back battled hard for every ball.
Gamble, making his debut in the game this afternoon, also showed some good touches and began to enjoy more possession in the middle.
Chris Turner made a change before half time, replacing Armann Bjornsson with Denis Behan and the Irish forward had one of Pools' only chances of the first half when he flicked a ball at goal only to see it go wide of target.
With half time providing Pools with a chance to regroup, Turner's men did look brighter after the break, enjoying more possession and, more importantly, possession in the right half of the field.
But the visitors showed just nine minutes into the half that they were not willing to let go of their lead as they smashed home a third goal to really finish the tie.
A good powerful run by Stephen Gleeson set up the move, pulling Flinders off his line and then ball was then squared in for the in-running Peter Leven who fired powerfully into the back of the net to effectively end Pools' hopes of getting anything out of this game.
Sam Baldock was introduced the game with fifteen minutes remaining and the sub made it 4-0 with virtually his first touch of the game.
Baldock picked up the ball just inside the area, drawing Flinders off his line and he slotted a low ball under the big keeper to make it four.
Jason Puncheon made it embarrassing for Pools in the 82nd minute when he coolly picked up possession on the edge of the area to send a drive into the back of the net - 5-0 to MK Dons.
The majority of the second half proved extremely frustrating for Pools as the visitors made things look easy and Turner's men struggled to create anything really threatening - Willy Gueret was a virtual spectator for the 90 minutes.
Positives to take from the game were hard to find this afternoon but the dogged performance of Austin and the promising signs from Gamble will give Pools something to work on going into the next game.
Pools now face two tough away trips - starting at Charlton on Tuesday night.
Att: 3211 (123 MK Dons)
Pools: Flinders, Sweeney, Liddle, Clark, Austin, Jones (Larkin 63), Gamble, Humphreys, Monkhouse, Bjornsson (Behan 39), Boyd
Subs Not Used: Cook, Haslam, Cherel, McSweeney, Fredriksen
MK Dons: Gueret, Lewington, Doumbe, McCracken, Gleeson, Easter (Baldock 75), Wilbraham, Woodards, Puncheon, Leven (Randall 70), Chadwick (Townsend 60)
Subs Not Used: Stirling, Howell, Powell, Morgan
