Luke puts Pools in the picture

HARTLEPOOL UNIT-ED are now level on points with Torquay United at the National League summit after securing a narrow win over the Gulls.

- Steve Harris

The Pools had previously lost 5-0 to Torquay last October and had trailed them by 11 points at the turn of the year.

However, they now only separated by goal difference thanks to Luke Molyneux’s 14th-minute effort – which ultimately proved to be decisive.

“To win and keep a clean sheet against a really good team is a really good effort by our lads,” said boss Dave Challinor. “We did a bit of work yesterday on the way down about slipping balls through and Luke (Armstrong) picked out Mols (Molyneux) and it’s a really good start to the game for us and it proved to be a pivotal moment.

“I also think we’ve defended really well to keep the likes of (Armani) Little, (Ben) Whitfield and (Connor) Lemonheigh-Evans quiet – that’s a big ask because they are top players at this level.”