Pools head coach refuses to blame floodlight failure after his side's winless run went on against Solihull Moors

Pools had been in control of the contest when the game was halted for almost 20 minutes in the second half after a power cut affected the local area and left the Prestige Group Stadium in darkness. Both sides spent around 10 minutes in the dressing rooms before returning, undertaking a brief warm-up and eventually returning to action. Having been dominant before the unusual break, Pools struggled to get going after the restart and were punished late on as their disappointing run went on.

A lot of the talk this week has surrounded off the pitch issues following the sudden resignation of chairman Raj Singh on Tuesday. While Singh has vowed to continue funding the club until the end of the season, Pools face a race against the clock to find new investment and secure their future. Although an interim board, who have rather cryptically remained anonymous, released a positive update on Friday and suggested that Pools were already in talks with potential buyers, there are concerns about what might happen if the club cannot find a new owner. There is the distinct possibility that the lights could go out at Hartlepool United forever.

Throughout the week, Limbrick's message has been that it is "business as usual" for his players. Many fans might find that hard to believe - after all, players will be concerned about their livelihoods and footballing prospects - but the Australian is in an unenviable position. Pools made just one change for the visit of a Solihull side who have themselves struggled since the departure of popular former boss Andy Whing to League Two side Barrow in January. Teenager Louis Stephenson replaced Dan Dodds, who is expected to miss a "few weeks" after sustaining a hamstring injury against Eastleigh. Skipper Luke Waterfall and Jack Hunter, both substitutes at Eastleigh, were absent from the squad, although Anthony Mancini was back on the bench for the first time since New Year's Day.

Pools started the game well and had a host of decent chances in the first half. Joe Grey forced a smart save from the impressive Ollie Wright in the opening exchanges, and the Southampton loanee made a couple of sharp stops to keep out Mani Dieseruvwe before the break. At the other end, Adam Smith saved well from Marcel Oakley but Pools, who were a constant threat at set-pieces, were the better side for the most part.

There were some concerns that a familiar lack of cutting edge might come back to haunt Pools once again but the hosts went ahead nine minutes into the second half when Tom Parkes rose highest to head in Jamie Miley's free-kick and score his second goal of the season.

The home side were pressing for a second when the lights went out and the game was paused. It was an unavoidable incident following an unfortunately timed power cut, but it was hard not to feel as though the darkness represented the disappointment fans are feeling following another underwhelming season as well as the dread about what an uncertain future might mean for the club. Supporters, who had been behind their side all afternoon, made the best of the bizarre situation while Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark pumped from the speakers.

Pools were punished for a slow start after play resumed and were pegged back in the 88th minute when Manny Duku, who had been signed by Limbrick while he was in charge of Manchester 62 in Gibraltar, headed home his third goal in two games. The hosts had defended well all afternoon but switched off from substitute John Bostock's free-kick and allowed the towering Duku an almost free header.

The introduction of Anthony Mancini gave the hosts a lift ahead of 14 minutes of added time and Pools pressed for a winner, replacing Louis Stephenson with veteran frontman Gary Madine, but were unable to breach Solihull's resolute rearguard.

Whether Anthony Limbrick is under pressure or not is hard to tell. Raj Singh seems unlikely to go to the trouble of getting rid of another manager if he's set to cut ties with the club in a couple of months, while what the prospective owners might make of the Australian is a mystery. The 41-year-old certainly has a tough job on his hands and a total of seven points from his first nine games is clearly a disappointing return. However, Pools have had a hire and fire culture for far too long and Limbrick is by no means the first man to have found things tough going in the dugout.

"I thought we were the better team today, we had the better chances," he said.

"We're disappointed with the goal we conceded as well. At 1-1, I thought we should have won the game with the chances we had to make it 2-1. We're disappointed again, it's more points dropped at home and we wanted to push for the home win today. Credit to the players, they gave everything and we really attacked the game and went for it. We've just come up a little bit short again.

"I wouldn't blame what happened with the floodlights at all. It happened quite quickly, we took the players back inside and then came back out quickly. It wasn't an issue for us."