Pools ran out worthy 2-0 winners over Brighton at The Vic this afternoon to earn another valuable three points to move away from the drop zone and record their first back-to-back wins in over four months.
Chris Turner's men showed the necessary desire and battle this afternoon to take hold of the game against a strong Brighton game and second-half goals from Andy Monkhouse and Roy O'Donovan sealed the win.
Brighton looked composed and confident on the ball in this first half; Poyet's men passed the ball about well and made Pools work hard.
But Turner's side were equal to anything the visitors had to throw at them - with Sam Collins and Gary Liddle again looked assured at the back.
And, while there were few chances for Pools in the opening forty-five minutes, there was good movement up front as Leon McSweeney was busy in support of Armann Bjornsson.
Brighton did test Scott Flinders in the opening period; Seb Carole was a threat with his pace down the flanks and the winger sent an early headed effort at goal to test the Pools keeper but Flinders held it comfortably.
Collins did well to nudge Ashley Barnes off the ball inside the area while Joe Gamble got in the way of a Lee Hendrie strike to send it high over the bar.
Pools had a penalty appeal waved away by the official as Armann Bjornsson was bundled to the ground by Tommy Elphick inside the box.
Andy Monkhouse enjoyed a good battle down the right wing with Gavin Hoyte to try and open things up for Pools in what was a bustling first half.
Roy O'Donovan got on the end of a Neil Austin freekick to turn and fire on goal but his shot went over the bar and, when set up by a determined Joe Gamble, the Irish striker tried a similar trick but this time saw his chance blocked.
In the closing minutes of the half, Carole headed wide from close range but it was Pools who ended the first forty five on top as they kept Brighton pressed deep into their own half until the whistle.
It was Brighton was started brightest again after the break and Scott Flinders had to be alert to save from Calderon who tested the keeper with a low strike from just outside the box.
Pools dealt with this again though and took the lead in the 54th minute when a Flinders goal kick was chested nicely down by Bjornsson for McSweeney who sent a good ball over the top for O'Donovan.
The pacy Irish striker burst through into the box where he challenged Tommy Elphick for the ball, the Brighton skipper coming out worse as he fell to the ground and the ball broke loose.
O'Donovan did not need a second invitation as he pushed on to the by-line and sent a great ball in from a narrow angle which went over Brezovan and rolled over the line to make it 1-0.
The goal seemed to rock the visitors slightly and Pools began to enjoy the rub of the green with some good pressure in the right areas; McSweeney continued to be a nuisance in and around the box, while Roy O;Donovan was a constant threat with his pace.
Gus Poyet introduced three subs to the game after the goal to try and lift his team and it almost paid dividends as Brighton put a good move together to push deep into the area but when the final ball arrived at Barnes' head, his effort was poor and Pools were able to clear.
The passage of play leading to Barnes' chance showed the potential within the Brighton team and Pools would still have work to do to get all three points from this game.
And that work was done in the 70th minute when James Brown challenged Adam El-Abd on the half way line for possession.
With the Pools' sub coming out on top, Brown was able to break forward and play the ball into the path of the in-running Monkhouse who was arriving down the right wing.
And, rather than put another ball into the area, Monkhouse went for goal himself and made the right decision as his effort screamed through the area to finish in the bottom left corner of Brezovan's net for his tenth strike of the season.
After setting up the goal for Monkhouse, Brown fancied a goal himself and he let rip with a powerful strike which stung the arms of Brezovan as he collected.
Scott Flinders pulled off a top-drawer save to tip a Calderon bullet-strike over the bar to retain the two-goal advantage for Pools.
And the big keeper pulled off another good stop to ensure he played a big part in the win; with sub Kazenga LuaLua closing down on him at pace with the ball, Flinders was brave as he threw himself into the challenge and came out in possession of the ball.
There was another nervy moment for Pools when Gary Dicker headed at goal from close range but his effort crashed against the bar and Scott Flinders recovered well to collect Chris Holroyd's rebound shot.
Leon McSweeney went close to grabbing a third inside the five minutes of additional time; the busy midfielder showed determination to power past two defenders and then take the ball around the out-rushing Brezovan but his final shot was blocked by a covering defender and McSweeney was denied the goal he deserved for a strong display.
Pools battled here this afternoon and showed the fight needed to edge themselves away from the drop zone.
Chris Turner's men saw their hard work pay off with three big points that will see Pools mover another step away from the relegation zone.
Pools: Flinders, Austin, Collins, Liddle, Haslam, Monkhouse, Gamble, Humphreys (Sweeney 78), McSweeney, O'Donovan (Power 90), Bjornsson (Brown 61)
Subs Not Used: Cook, Clark, Hartley, Boyd
Brighton: Brezovan, Elphick, El-Abd, Navarro (Arismendi 65), Dicker, Calderon, Carole (Holroyd 65), Bennett, Hoyte, Hendrie (LuaLua 59), Barnes
Subs Not Used: Walker, Virgo, Smith, Cook
