Hartlepool manager Chris Turner watched his side stutter to victory over the Latics and admitted, "I am relieved really because no matter what happens in the game we just wanted the three points. I thought we got 2-0 up in the first half without really playing that well and could even have had a third when Adam Boyd almost finished off a good move."
"For most of the second half I felt we were comfortable and we were saying on the bench that the lads were seeing the game out very well. But then out of nowhere Peter Hartley's brought down Chris Taylor and got a yellow card, then maybe showed a lack of experience getting involved with a melee in the penalty box which resulted in his red card. They then scored from a free-kick, and it was panic stations for us really - but we hung on in the end. We needed luck and a great save from Scott Flinders. It was three or four minutes of mayhem. They missed three or four good chances in a short period of time."