THERE was no hollow feel to Hartlepool United's celebrations at Nene Park this time out.

Almost 12 months ago, Pool ended their promotion campaign at Rushden on the final day of the season.

But, despite their joy at promotion, looking on as the home side lifted the championship trophy at Pool's expense hurt. They knew it should have been Micky Barron lifting the title.

On that day the Pool followers still managed to show the home support a thing or two about how to party at a football match.

Yet on this occasion there was no doubt who had cause to celebrate.

A 2-0 win, Pool's fifth in a row, pushed them up the play-off ladder, above Brighton into fifth spot and had fans working out the logistics of gaining automatic promotion.

Five points behind second place with six to play for might be asking a bit too much, but with this side anything is possible.

They need a point from remaining games with champions Plymouth and play-off rivals Swindon to make sure of a spot in the end of season shake-up, but they might have enough now because Port Vale - five points adrift in seventh - still have to take maximum points from their last two games to kick Pool or Brighton out.

In the grand scheme of things, Pool's 5-2 win at Vale Park on a snowy January night should not be underestimated.

And, as Pool ponder the possibility of facing Leeds and Leicester next season, Rushden are looking at a swift return to Division Three.

Their new boss, Ernie Tippett, a throwback to days when footballers had proper names, had the temerity to claim his side dominated the second half.

For his opposite number, however it's a different story. He can legitimately claim his team dominated and they can't stop winning as the season draws to a conclusion.

Where it ends is anybody's guess.

They boast the best away record in the division and, if only a handful of those eight draws at home had been turned into wins, they would be comfortably second.

This was Neale Cooper's 50th competitive game in charge and he said: "We knew this would be difficult, a new manager coming in normally gives them a lift.

"But we worked hard. I don't put any pressure on the players at all. They have trained so well again during the week.

"The spirit among them is frightening, it really is. The workrate is tremendous and that's credit to the boys.

"What they have done for me so far this season has been immense. Me and Martin have worked them hard, but it's down to the players. They are a fantastic bunch of boys.

"They get on well, work hard and are getting the results. We have come on another level, we really have.

"They fight each other's corner, they laugh together and work hard together. And I include the supporters in that as well, their turnout on Saturday was immense and you could see how much winning meant to them.''

Cooper added: "Rushden sat off us and allowed us to build from the back. When we got the ball down and played they couldn't live with us.

"Maybe they thought if they came at us and closed us down all day we could open them up quickly, so they stood off.

"What we had to do was get our full-backs on the ball - and I thought they could have stepped on better in the first-half. We put Eifion out wide and then he scored a lovely goal, he finished it off really well.

"We thought his pace could hurt the full back out wide and he came inside to put us in front.''

After Darrell Clarke hobbled off, Williams moved to the right wing and it only took him four minutes to score.

Substitute Joel Porter fed Ritchie Humphreys out wide, his low cross was left by Boyd and Williams raced in to finish low with the outside of his right boot.

One-up and the confidence came flooding out. After winning the battle and getting on top, there was no way they were going to give this one up.

The points were sealed thanks to a comedy display of the highest order from home keeper Billy Turley.

The goalkeeper has never endeared himself to Pool fans, his gamesmanship and time wasting skills were exemplary in last season's finale and that came after he claimed to have been struck by a bottle thrown from the Town End at Victoria Park in September 2002.

Boyd scored that day as well, but it can't have given him more pleasure than this one.

As the ball was passed back to the keeper, Boyd charged him down. Turley must have thought he was Rene Higuita, the Columbian keeper who likes nothing more than to beat a couple of players and race down the field to start an attack.

Instead, it was more akin to Rene from Allo Allo and even funnier to boot. Rather than wellying the ball into row z, he thought it would be smart to try to take the ball around Boyd.

So the striker slid in, won possession and left Turley dumped on his backside as he raced forward and rolled the ball into the net.

In front of 1,100 mocking fans, Turley would rather have been somewhere much more welcoming. Like a nice warm cave deep in the Afghanistan mountains with Bin Laden as mine host.

It was Boyd's tenth goal in eight games, the first time he has reached double figures in a season for Pool and he's done it spectacular style in a spectacular season, which could yet end with a day a Cardiff.

Result: Rushden and Diamonds 0 Hartlepool United 2.

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