Opposition view: Pools boss Challinor admits Cobblers can 'feel hard done by' after defeat

Hartlepool United manager Dave Challinor accepted his side were 'average' for 55 minutes before finishing strongly and grabbing a late winner against Northampton on Saturday.

Pools' unbeaten home record came under serious threat as Town dominated large portions of the game, especially when Sam Hoskins fired in the opener early in the second-half.

But David Ferguson crashed a header into the top corner to swiftly equalise before Luke Molyneux pinched all three points with a winner seven minutes from full-time.

“Absolutely delighted,” Challinor told the Hartlepool Mail. “It's not a good habit to get into winning games from losing positions but to win the game the way we have, has made it all the more special.

"We've had issues imposing our system on teams when they play with a three up front. We were miles off it in the first-half and we were sloppy but we still had the best opportunity in the half with Dales [Matty Daly] sliding Will [Goodwin] through.

"They score in the second-half and we equalise straight away and then you have a choice to continue or make a change and we made changes to have a positive impact and that proved to be the case.

"We’ve not been at our best but we’ve shown enough opportunities to win a game. I think Northampton will feel hard done by not to have got something from the game because they are a good side and they made it difficult for us, it was a turgid first-half from our perspective.

"But we reacted very well and created the chances after making changes and we can be pleased with how we’ve won today.

"To win in a way where we've been average from our perspective for 55-minutes but changed things and shown belief is brilliant.”