Hartlepool United 'mainstay' earns praise from first team coach for Stevenage impact

Featherstone scored his first goal of the season within a minute of the second half at the Suit Direct Stadium when producing a beautifully composed first time finish to beat emergency loan goalkeeper Thimothee Lo-Tutala in front of a jubilant Town End.

Featherstone’s strike cancelled out a fine header from Danny Rose who opened the scoring in the first half as Pools earned another point to edge out of the bottom two and extend their unbeaten run under John Askey.

The Hartlepool captain returned to the side in Good Friday’s win over Grimsby Town following the uncertainty regarding Frenchman Mohamad Sylla, who was back on the bench.

And Sweeney has praised the 34-year-old, who continues to be an important mainstay in the Hartlepool side, for a goal the former midfielder himself would have been proud of.

"I’d enjoy any finish which hit the back of the net,” Sweeney joked to The Mail.

"Nicky brings a quality to us. There’s no coincidence over the last eight years, when there’s been various changes of manager and regimes and tactics and systems, that he’s been a mainstay.

"He’s got the quality, his goal proved that. Many people would lash at that and maybe hit it over the bar but he passed it into the net.

"It was an excellent finish and at the time it was key for us because we needed that boost after half-time to get us back into the game. We’re just slightly disappointed we couldn’t turn that into three points.”

Sweeney admitted it was more than likely a point gained for Hartlepool, given the end-to-end climax of the game, with David Ferguson called upon to clear from the line in the final stages.

However, Pools had opportunities to win it with both Euan Murray, who fired over from a matter of yards, and Oliver Finney who had the goal at his mercy deep into stoppage time.

Finney was the hero against Swindon Town when scoring a late winner and had the chance to do so again when Josh Umerah picked the midfielder out, unmarked, inside the penalty area only for the 25-year-old to get his touch all wrong and pass up the opportunity.

“It’s one he’ll go to bed thinking about,” Sweeney said of Finney’s late chance.

"Josh has robbed the lad in the corner and Oli has had to run at full pelt to get into the position he has and Josh has put the ball in, he’s got to keep it far enough away from the goalkeeper, and it just so happens that it lands, probably, in between both feet if you like, so Oli decides to take a touch and he’s just executed it poorly.

"On another day he comes onto it on his left foot and sticks it in the back of the net. We would have loved that to happen. It didn’t, but we move on.”