Hartlepool United midfielder makes first start for Boston as Pilgrims climb out of bottom four

The on loan midfielder, who signed for the Pilgrims last month, played the full 90 minutes after replacing the injured Jimmy Knowles in the starting XI.

It was a dramatic night for Graham Coughlan's side, who went behind on the stroke of half time when Tyler Frost put the hosts in front. Boston struck back through James Gale and won the game in the 91st minute when Jai Rowe scored his ninth goal of the season. The Pilgrims, who were seven points adrift of safety when Coughlan replaced Ian Culverhouse in November, leapfrogged Dagenham and Redbridge, who host Pools at the weekend, to move out of the bottom four. The Lincolnshire side have won nine of their last 16 National League games.

Sloggett has endured a generally frustrating season since signing for Pools in the summer, becoming one of a number of new midfielders to arrive at the Prestige Group Stadium.

Having made his name in his native Ireland, impressing with the likes of University College Dublin, Derry City and Dundalk, where he made 160 appearances, including 16 in the Europa League, Sloggett crossed the Irish Sea for his first taste of English football in February last year, signing for Cheltenham. However, the 28-year-old struggled to make any sort of impact at Whaddon Road and was released at the end of the season after making just one start and one substitute appearance.

Looking north, Sloggett signed for Pools in July and was touted as among the most exciting of the plethora of new midfield arrivals as Darren Sarll set about on a complete overhaul of the engine room, dispensing with the technical Tom Crawford and Callum Cooke and luring Sloggett, Nathan Sheron, Jack Hunter and, later, Darren Robinson to the Prestige Group Stadium; the quartet of new arrivals were all renowned for reliability, robustness and their work without the ball.

While Sheron, who has started 39 of his new side's 41 National League games and is a strong contender for the club's player of the season award, has enjoyed an impressive debut campaign in the North East, Sloggett and Hunter have both struggled, while Robinson had his loan from parent club Derby County cut short.

Sloggett made a bright start to his Pools career, providing two assists on his debut in a thumping win over South Shields, but suffered a setback when he sustained an injury against Sunderland under-21s the following week. When the new National League campaign began, he found himself on the fringes of the side and left to join Boston having managed just eight starts and 10 substitute appearances for Pools.

After linking up with fellow Irishman Graham Coughlan in Lincolnshire at the back end of last month, Sloggett, who is out of contract with Pools in the summer, made three substitute appearances before being handed his first start in midweek.

Your next Hartlepool United read: Limbrick full of praise for Folarin's "great attitude" after first Pools goal