Chairboys dominate Pools yet again...
WYCOMBE’S rule over Hartlepool continued with a ninth win in the last ten meetings.
And they were never in much danger against a Pools side which failed to make much headway going forward.
Goals from Adebayo Akinfenwa and Paris Cowan-Hall secured their sixth away win of the season and leaves them three points short of the play-off zone with eight games remaining.
“We went one-up, had a wobble like teams do, and then saw the game out strong, really strong,’’ reflected Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth.
“There’s been no pressure all season and now let’s turn the key a bit and see what we can achieve.
“If the opposition score one, we will score two – that’s the mentality of the players. It’s really pleasing, a great result.
“Overall I’m really pleased with the performance against a team in a false position who have a very good manager and someone who I respect.’’
Amid a tame opening, Akinfenwa took a neat touch on the edge of the area, brushed off Scott Harrison and netted low from 12 yards. He appeared to injure himself in the process and hobbled off in the second half.
Pools had two firsthalf penalty appeals rejected, the second looked a handball in the six-yard area after a deep corner was headed towards goal by Brad Walker, but referee David Webb was having none of it.
Pools’ best opening came when Lewis Alessandra broke away and looked to play in Padraig Amond, only for Michael Woods to get in his way and the ball rolled wide.
Scott Harrison had a deep header pushed away by Nick Blackman but the game was clinched on 90 minutes.
Pools failed to clear their defensive lines and CowanHall raced past Nicky Deverdics to shoot into the far corner.
Cowan-Hall was then redcarded, collecting a second yellow after tangling with Harrison.
Pools remain nine points in front of the bottom two after defeats for both Orient and Newport.
And Hartlepool boss Dave Jones admits his side needed a more clinical edge.
“All we missed was nous,” said Jones. “We got in positions behind, but needed to kill them off. A goal would have won it, but we found it hard to get that goal.
“I felt we just fell short in the final third of the play.
“We had a lot of tired bodies after Tuesday and we put it to bed. It’s not all bad, but it’s about learning.’’