Hartlepool United midfielder Nathan Sheron rues "an opportunity wasted" after Pools beaten by Yeovil Town
Hartlepool United midfielder Nathan Sheron felt his side were left to rue "an opportunity wasted" after Pools were beaten 2-0 by Yeovil Town on Saturday.
With seventh placed Southend's game against Rochdale abandoned after 77 minutes - at the time, the Shrimpers, who are two points clear of Pools, were trailing 2-1 - a win would have lifted Nicky Featherstone's side into the top seven for the first time since September.
Indeed, Pools fans could afford to feel confident ahead of kick-off as their side looked to build on their impressive seven-match unbeaten run, while supporters were also buoyed by the appointment of Featherstone, who has overseen a remarkable turnaround in both results and performances, as the club's permanent manager on Friday.
Yet Pools were well below par as their impressive recent run came to an end thanks to goals from Aaron Jarvis and the outstanding Luke McCormick as Yeovil won for the second game in succession since the appointment of former Walton and Hersham boss Billy Rowley, who became the fourth man to take charge of the Glovers already this term, late last month.
For all fans might understandably feel frustrated after their side failed to take advantage of a golden chance to sneak into the play-off places, Sheron has vowed that Pools will bounce back as they look to continue their impressive recent progression under Featherstone.
"It was really disappointing," the midfielder, who is the only Pools player to have started all 24 games so far this season, told the official club website.
"We've come through a good period, and for us now it's about bouncing back.
"We'll be disappointed over the next couple of days, but we'll come back in on Monday fresh and looking forward to the weekend.
"It's a bit of an opportunity wasted, I'm sure if we'd have won today we'd have nicked into the play-offs.
"It's a long season, we've still got 24 games left and it's about us now not getting too low and learning from what went wrong today."