Late goals from Mani Dieseruvwe and Luke Waterfall secured an impressive 3-1 victory over Boreham Wood at the Suit Direct Stadium.
Kevin Phillips made one change to the side that secured a point at Woking last week, with Brennan Dickinson replacing the injured Courtney Senior out wide. New signing Chay Cooper was also named on the bench, having signed less than 24 hours before kick-off.
The Suit Direct Stadium was stunned inside the opening minute, as Boreham Wood forward Kabongo Tshimanga slid the ball past Joel Dixon to give the visitors an early lead.
Pools’ heads didn’t drop though, with Dickinson responding with a few decent chances himself but he couldn’t find target.
Phillips’ men remained committed to the cause and found their reward on the stroke of half-time. Callum Cooke split the Boreham Wood defence in two with a brilliant pass to find Grey, who coolly slotted the ball past Nathan Ashmore at his near post.
In contrast to the opening 45 minutes, Pools started the second half much stronger as Tom Crawford’s long-range strike forced an impressive save from Ashmore.
After a quiet half hour, debutant Cooper found himself through on goal after a fantastic piece of distribution from Dixon, but the winger just saw his effort curl the wrong side of the post.
The visitors responded with a spell of pressure themselves, with Angelo Balanta and Tyrone Marsh both squandering half chances.
In the 84th minute, Dieseruvwe headed home a David Ferguson cross to give Pools a well-earned lead and send the Pools faithful into chorus.
Pools held the pressure and were rewarded just minutes later when Waterfall bundled the ball home from a set-piece, securing the three points in the process.
The victory moves Pools up to 10th in the National League, just six points off the play-off places.
Pools: Dixon, Hendrie, Waterfall, Parkes, Ferguson, Featherstone, Crawford, Dickinson (Cooper 66), Cooke (Stephenson 82), Grey (Wallace 87), Dieseruvwe
Subs (not used): Jameson, Onariase
Goals: Grey (45), Dieseruvwe (84), Waterfall (87)
Boreham Wood goal: Tshimanga (1)