Hartlepool United caretaker manager Antony Sweeney reflects on 2-2 draw against Notts County

Pools led 2-0 in the first half thanks to Gavan Holohan and Luke James before Wes Thomas pulled a goal back just before the half-time break.

Thomas found the net again on the hour mark as the spoils were shared at Meadow Lane.

“It shows how far we’ve come that we’re disappointed with a point here,” Sweeney said.

“For the majority of the first half we executed our game plan as near to perfect as I could have hoped for before they pulled one back.

“At the break, I tried to get the message across that while they were disappointed to concede, they had been absolutely outstanding so if they carried on in the same vain then they’d still go on to win the game because we still had the lead.

“At 2-0, there’s a sense of disappointment not to win no matter how the second half panned out but that’s only natural.

“We made a really, really good side look ordinary in the first half on their own pitch. I knew the second half would be difficult and I tried to get us to carry on doing what we were doing but they changed their shape and personnel.

“Fair play to Neal [Ardley], he’s got a good side there with good players that allowed him to change things in a positive manner so sometimes you’ve got to take your hat off to the opposition as well.”