Hartlepool United 2-1 Swindon Town: Unrelenting spirit and John Askey's goal source - key takeaways from significant win

Oliver Finney sparked wild scenes at the Suit Direct Stadium when he powered in Hartlepool’s winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time to complete what, 10 minutes previous, seemed the most unlikely of comebacks.

John Askey’s side trailed thanks to an excellent goal from Rushian Hepburn-Murphy inside just five minutes which led to a challenging first half.

But as has been the case under Askey, Pools battled until the death and found an equaliser through Connor Jennings two minutes from time before Finney's late winner capped a wonderful afernoon at the Suit Direct Stadium.

And here are some of the key takeaways from a dramatic victory:

Hartlepool United’s first half struggles

This was Askey’s sixth game in charge - his fifth with a full week to work with his players having been in the building less than 48-hours for the Walsall fixture.

And it was probably the weakest we have seen Hartlepool in that time, given where their performance levels have been in recent weeks.

That’s not to say Hartlepool were necessarily poor, but they were certainly on the back foot against a Swindon side who looked a cut above at times.

For that, the Robins deserve credit. Hepburn-Murphy’s goal in the fourth minute was the first time since the 2-2 draw with Sutton United that Hartlepool have conceded in the opening quarter of the game - which is an improvement on an area which had been of concern.

But it allowed Swindon to dictate and dominate as Hartlepool, for the first time under Askey, looked rocked.

The front three of Charlie Austin, Hepburn-Murphy and Tyrese Shade caused Hartlepool’s three centre-backs a number of problems, with Saidou Khan, Remeao Hutton and, particularly, Jonny Williams and Joe Tomlinson causing several overloads alongside them in supply.

Williams was able to drift in his hybrid midfield role as a No.8 or a No.10 which caused problems for Mohamad Sylla to pick up in the first half while Tomilson’s incentive to get forward from left full-back also caused problems down Dan Dodds’ side of the field - Hutton likewise on the right.

It was fluid from Swindon and Hartlepool had to dig in.

Jamie Sterry and David Ferguson both had to fall back into full-back roles as opposed to their more advanced positions which was a smart move by Askey midway through the first half to help stem the green tide which was coming against them.

“I thought they started well,” admitted Askey.

“They’ve got really good players. Their midfield three were dominating and we had to try and get to grips with it.

“We showed a bit towards the end of the first half and we started to get to grips with them a little bit more but the first half we need to be better.”

Askey added: “Conditions here have an affect on the game as well.

“You saw that in the previous game against Leyton Orient. If you look at the figures it was pretty even with Leyton Orient in the first half then the second half we just took over. The wind plays a big part.

“I don’t think some people realise when you’re playing, you feel as though you’re under pressure when you’re at the back when the wind is blowing in. You go to clear balls and it only goes to the halfway line and it holds up and then they’re coming onto the ball.

“I don’t want to play it up too much, but it does have an effect.”

John Askey gets his substitutions right again

Having seen a big improvement against Leyton Orient when making his substitutions, Askey again got his tactical decisions spot on against Swindon.

Euan Murray had been a doubt heading into the contest and was given around 60 minutes before Askey turned to his bench with Wes McDonald again introduced, Jack Hamilton also coming on in place of Josh Umerah.

Askey again went to a back four and threw a little bit of caution to the wind in terms of allowing his team to be more exposed on the break.

But the rewards were greater in that it, again, allowed Hartlepool to be more sustained in their attacks with McDonald making another notable contribution when assisting Jennings before Finney, brought on in the closing stages to add more energy, showed just that when driving forward to score the winner.

“The main thing was we stayed in the game,” said Askey.

“Second half we came out and, gradually, we got better and better as the game went on. We changed the system again and personnel to freshen it up and that helped.

“I get a lot of help from the people around me; Tony and Mark and the rest of the staff.

“When we’re making substitutions we don’t just make them. There’s a lot of thought goes into them with the analyst and luckily, today, it’s come off.

“Sometimes it doesn’t, but today it did.”

Hartlepool United’s unrelenting character

It seems a weekly occurrence now to note Hartlepool's fighting spirit and yet with each week they continue to show even greater traits of their character.

With five minutes of this game remaining it felt as though their recent upturn was coming to an end - had Hutton converted his golden opportunity moments earlier it might well have done.

And yet they kept up their record of scoring in every game under Askey with Jennings’ late equaliser.

The pleasing thing, however, was that they did not settle for a point. They pressed on looking for a winner which duly came as their unrelenting spirit continued.

Hartlepool United’s goal source

Jennings’ strike was his third in four games at the Suit Direct Stadium as he appears to have found form at a key time for Hartlepool.

And with Finney adding his name to the mix, there is a feeling that we are now seeing the burden of scoring being shared out around the squad to take some of the pressure off Umerah, which is timely given his goals have dried up a little of late.

Umerah has scored just one in his last 10 appearances and yet within that period, Hartlepool have had six different goal scorers from all areas of the field with goals, seemingly, not too much of a concern for Askey.

Hartlepool United snap unwanted run

Not only was this victory significant for the obvious reasons of closing the gap to Crawley Town but it also ended what had been a nine game run without a win.

Despite their improved level of performances since the January transfer window and, particularly, since Askey’s arrival, Pools had won just one of their 10 games since January 31 - their longest streak since Paul Hartley’s nine game winless run to start the season.

With that in mind, added to the situation they remain in, this win holds even more substance.