Defeat for Oldham Athletic leaves door open for Hartlepool United in pursuit of play-offs

The Latics took the lead after just three minutes through Kian Harratt but second half goals from Dion Kelly-Evans and Lewis Walker turned the game on its head in the space of nine minutes.

While Pools have no more than a sliver of hope of gatecrashing the play-offs, results in recent weeks have at least kept their dreams alive. Following a miserable run of eight games without a win, Anthony Limbrick's side are now unbeaten in their last five, recording three successive victories for the first time since the beginning of last season. As a result, Pools have hauled themselves back into the top half of the National League table and are now within six points of the play-off places.

A number of the sides in and around Pools have started to struggle of late. Gateshead, who looked certain of at least a play-off place when they beat Pools 4-3 on Boxing Day, have slipped down to sixth after losing six of their last seven games while Halifax, who are fifth, are without a win in their previous five matches, scoring just once in that time.

While sneaking into the top seven might seem like something of a pipedream for more pessimistic Pools fans, Limbrick's side do still have to play Gateshead, Rochdale and Oldham, meaning there is the potential for a six-point swing between each team. In all likelihood, Pools will need to win all of their final five games, beginning with this weekend's long trip to relegation-threatened Dagenham and Redbridge, and hope that results elsewhere go in their favour.

It's worth noting that a number of the foremost play-off contenders have difficult looking run-ins; Oldham still have to travel to York and Forest Green, two of the division's top three, while Gateshead take on York, Forest Green and in-form Southend.

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