Hartlepool United manager Kevin Phillips said he never doubted the spirit within his squad as Pools brush off bad memories to beat Halifax Town 1-0

Pools were left to lick their wounds after shipping six second half goals in a humbling 7-1 defeat to local rivals Gateshead in midweek, their heaviest defeat in 28 years.

With in-form Halifax arriving in the North East on a run of seven wins from their last eight and with the knowledge that another three points could have taken them inside the National League's top seven, Pools looked to have their work cut out.

However, almost from the first minute it became apparent that the home side were a team transformed, with Pools stifling Halifax while creating a number of presentable chances of their own, the best of which fell to Mani Dieseruvwe in the first half.

The longer the game went on, the more than 4,000 or so Poolies packed into the Suit Direct Stadium began to forgive and forget the bitter disappointment of Tuesday night as the momentum of Friday's encounter swung increasingly in the home side's favour.

The hosts were rewarded for their resilience in the 71st minute when Terrell Agyemang was tripped in the box and Mani Dieseruvwe scored from the penalty spot, condemning his former club to a rare defeat and becoming just the fourth Pools player in the last 50 years to score 20 league goals in a single season.

And, while Phillips admitted his side underwent some soul-searching in a transformative 72 hours since Gateshead, he said he never doubted his squad's desire and determination.

"The crowd could see a team that was fighting," he said.

"We know we've got characters and leaders in the squad and we couldn't let 45 minutes of football define us.

"The supporters have turned up and been fantastic today.

"We knew we had to get them on side and I can't thank them enough.

"The players had to make sure there was no excuse for the fans to jump on them, and they did that.

"The game plan was to be positive, be a bit more direct, play forward and fight for second balls.

"We won't forget what happened at Gateshead - it'll always be on my CV - but we can start to put it behind us now."