The form guide suggested Pools might be in for a long afternoon and the Pilgrims arrived at the Prestige Group Stadium on a run of five consecutive away wins, but the hosts dominated the majority of the contest to ease their growing relegation fears. It was an important win for all sorts of reasons and one that meant a lot to head coach Anthony Limbrick, who has been under pressure following a challenging start to life in the dugout while also being made to contend with a host of questions about off-field uncertainty after the sudden resignation of chairman Raj Singh last week.
For 90 minutes at least, Pools put some of their worries aside with a dominant performance that all but secures their National League status for another season. The hosts made the perfect start and went in front after just four minutes when Gary Madine ended a run of seven games without a goal but were pegged back in the 20th minute when former Darlington frontman Jacob Hazel scored for the eighth time in 13 matches. Mani Dieseruvwe fired Pools back into the lead four minutes later, his 14th goal of the campaign, before second half strikes from Reyes Cleary, who was unplayable at times, and the impressive Jamie Miley made sure of the result. Here's a look at how the Pools players rated.
1. Adam Smith: 6
One excellent claim from a cross that was swung right underneath his bar in the first half and a smart save to turn Brad Nicholson's free-kick wide of the post when he looked to have seen it late. A nervous moment at the beginning of the second half when he was stranded in no man's land and was almost lobbed by the tireless Jacob Hazel; much like against Eastleigh earlier in the month, he was caught off his line after advancing towards a ball he had no business coming for. That said, his commitment to dominating his area and his decisiveness are both admirable and a real asset for Pools and it would be unreasonable to expect him to get it right every time. A couple of other regulation saves, including one from Boston skipper Zak Mills at the end of the first half. Didn't have much to do in the final half an hour as the visitors started to run out of steam but commanded his area well. Photo: Frank Reid
2. Billy Sass-Davies: 7
Started the game really confidently and has looked good since breaking back into the side. Didn't seem like Anthony Limbrick had a lot of faith in him when he first took charge, leaving him on the bench for his first six matches at the helm, but his recent performances must have convinced the Australian. Rarely looked troubled when Boston tried to drag him into the right-hand channel and he made one excellent tackle inside the penalty area midway through the first half. One mistake after the break when he got caught underneath a long ball but Tom Parkes got him out of trouble. Other than that, pretty much faultless and almost scored his first Pools goal with a towering header just before half time. Photo: FRANK REID
3. Tom Parkes: 9
One of the best defensive performances of the season. Dominated in the air and dealt well with Jacob Hazel, who has been in fine form and was a real handful all afternoon. Brought the ball out of defence superbly on a number of occasions and made one brilliant block in the second half after Billy Sass-Davies had misjudged a long ball. Not the quickest, but has pretty much all the other attributes you'd want in a defender - brave, robust, intelligent, positionally aware, strong and full of spirit and determination. A defender's defender and an outstanding showing. Photo: Frank Reid
4. David Ferguson: 7
Might go under the radar, but solid as a rock and has been reliable since returning to the side. Wasn't the most spectacular in a Pools performance full of impressive displays but went about his work diligently and was rarely troubled defensively. Deserves credit and certainly played his part in an important Pools win. Photo: Frank Reid