Moore hails 'massive week'

Ronnie Moore basked in a 'massive week' after a third successive win kept alive Hartlepool's hopes of a League Two great escape.

Pools followed up back-to-back away wins over Morecambe and Oxford by overcoming Mansfield 1-0 at Victoria Park. Brad Walker got the only goal, converting from the spot after Nicky Featherstone had won a penalty. The upshot is that Pools, who have been at the foot of the table for the majority of the campaign, are now just a single point ahead of safety. "It has been a massive week," said Moore. "It's been unbelievable and put us in with a shout. "If we do our part someone will falter and there's one or two starting to feel the pressure now. "I have nothing but praise for the way the players have worked this week. It's just fantastic for the club." Pools were rewarded for slashing ticket prices as over 4,000 people saw the home side take the spoils. And Moore will be hoping for similar in a week's time when the north-east club welcome Cambridge. He added: "Nobody wants to go out of this league and if we continue to fight the way we did there, we'll get the support from the crowd. "We have another home game now and we're getting greedy. There's a chance we could come off next week and not be bottom and that's just fantastic." Opposite number Adam Murray, who saw his side reduced to 10 men when Junior Brown was given a straight red car for a studs-up challenge on Walker, felt Mansfield were the architects of their own downfall. "We beat ourselves," he said. "We knew we would wear them down and chances would come. "We didn't stick to the basics, the things you need to come here and do well. We shot ourselves in the foot." Speaking about Brown's sending off, Murray added: "He hasn't gone to hurt him; he's gone for the ball. "It's one of them. Yellow yes. He's not gone to do what he did and hopefully the referee will look at it again."