Pools drew 2-2 with Danny Wilson's Swindon Town outfit at The Vic this afternoon.

After leading 2-0 at the break, Chris Turner's men looked comfortable for the three points but Swindon fought back and hit two goals in the last twenty minutes to square the game up.

Pools got off to the perfect start again this afternoon, this time with an opening goal after just four minutes of play.

Turner's men burst out of the blocks and left the hosts really as they poured forward from the off.

A long throw from Sam Collins on the left caused problems from the Swindon defence and, with the ball bobbling around inside the area, both Boyd and Antony Sweeney showed determination to push on.

And, after good work by Sweeney, the ball fell just right for Boyd who poked the ball through a crowd and past Lucas to make it 1-0.

The opening period of the game was played out at a real frantic pace, as Pools put Swindon well and truly on the back foot in the final third.

Danny Wilson's men showed positivity themselves going forward but the Pools defence showed more composure in dealing with it than the visitors.

Alan O'Brien was the biggest outlet for Swindon, showing a great turn of pace down the left wing and he put a great ball into the box which was met by Charlie Austin in the air but Scott Flinders got down to palm the effort to safety.

The second Pools goal arrived on 12 minutes and it was the in-form Antony Sweeney who bagged a deserved goal this afternoon.

The midfielder saw his hard work rewarded when a long ball up field from Collins was met by a poor Jean-Francois back-header and the ball fell to Sweeney - he then sent a perfectly-weighted chipped effort over Lucas and into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 2-0 to Pools.

The tempo of the game slowed as the half progressed, but that didn't stop both teams creating chances.

Joe Gamble showed a calm head to clear a Charlie Austin header off the line, while Scott Flinders pulled off a great double save to deny first Austin and then Jon-Paul McGovern.

The McGovern block in particular was impressive as the big keeper was outside of his area and blocked well with his body.

Pools had the best chance to add a third in this first half though, a great interception from Paul Murray in the centre of the field saw the gritty midfielder pick out Monkhouse down the left wing with good vision.

Monkhouse squared the ball neatly into the path of Horwood, who unleashed a teasing effort which curled across the area and skimmed the underside of the bar on its way out.

And so Pools went into the second half with a two-goal cushion but they faced a stronger challenge from the visitors after the break.

Danny Wilson had clearly fired his players up during half time as they came out with more battle and enjoyed a good spell after the re-start.

But while the visitors seemed intent on finding that goal to give them a lifeline back into the game, Pools remained largely untroubled at the back, with Scott Flinders having little to test him.

A succession of corner kicks from Michael Rose from the left were blocked by Horwood at the near post, while Sam Collins met a ball up from O'Brien with a powerful header.

Sub Fabian Yantorno endeared himself to the Poolie faithful when he engaged in a real tussle for possession with Jean-Francois on the by-line - with the Uruguayan showing a real steely determination to win the ball.

But Swindon Town grabbed a goal back on 72 minutes almost out of nothing; Sam Collins rose well to nod a long ball back out of the box but the ball fell at the feel of the in-running Thomas Dossevi who sent a low blast back through the area and into the bottom left corner of the net from just outside the area.

With twenty minutes remaining on the clock, the goal set things up for a tense finish at The Vic as Pools looked to hold on to the three points.

And within two minutes of striking the equaliser, Swindon Town were level; a ball into the box was not cleared by Pools and Charlie Austin was able to nip in and send a neat finish past Flinders to make it 2-2.

The introduction of Pericard just after the hour mark gave the hosts a real boost and saw Austin, who had been quiet for most of the game, become much more involved for the visitors.

From looking comfortable this afternoon, Pools were left to battle in the final ten minutes - after a good block by Liddle on the edge of the box, Austin popped up to strike the loose ball at goal, fortunately Flinders blocked and the danger cleared.

There were chances for both sides to score the winner late in the game; Yantorno setting up Sweeney with a great ball for Pools, while O'Brien did the same at the other end but neither team grabbed the decisive fifth goal this afternoon.

A disappointing result in the end for Pools who had promised so much with their early goals but a good fight-back from Swindon Town saw the points shared.

Att: 2893 (236 Swindon Town)

Bookings: Pools: Gamble (73) Swindon: Dossevi (85)

Pools: Flinders, Haslam, Collins, Liddle, Horwood, Sweeney, Gamble, Murray, Brown (Yantorno 58), Boyd (McSweeney 58), Monkhouse
Subs Not Used: Rafferty, Hartley, Fredriksen, Larkin, Behan

Swindon Town: Lucas, Cuthbert, Rose, Douglas, Caddis, McGovern (Pericard 61), Ferry (Dossevi 61), Prutton, O'Brien, Jean-Francois, Austin
Subs Not Used: Timlin, Smith, Morrison, Amankwaah, Ball