Woods: Fine show can’t be a one-off

Michael Woods has hailed the fight and character of Hartlepool United, but added that Saturday’s battling result against Plymouth Argyle can’t be a one-match-wonder.

Pools took their gifted opponents all the way, the League Two match ending in a creditable 1-1 draw.

And Woods says there must be more displays like this – many more.

It was a crucial point in their fight for survival, though Pools actually dropped three places to 22nd in the table after the teams below them won.

“If we can carry that bit of drive, desire, commitment on into the remaining games, put our heads and bodies in where it hurts, then I think we will be more than all right,” declared Woods.

“But it’s just one performance, one point.

“We need to maintain this mentallity in all the games we have coming up.

“The teams around us won to make things harder but we still have those teams to play so it’s in our hands.”

Woods was in tremendous form in the centre of the park, continuing from where he left off at Luton in midweek.

Pools had shown promise as a team at Kenilworth Road, only to lose 3-0 to a team looking good for promotion.

But they took their performance to another level on Saturday against the second-placed Pilgrims.

They led just after the midpoint of the first half through a first league goal of the season from Rhys Oates. Alas, Plymouth fought back to level, thanks to a sublime goal from Matty Kennedy.

“You saw the lift, the rise in confidence as soon as we got the goal from Rhys,” said Woods.

“We looked all right and on the front foot against a good team. We now need to kick on from this.

“It’s promising that it shows how far we’ve come in a short space of time, that we are a little disappointed not to have won against a Plymouth team I believe will go up.”