IT'S 21 years since Hartlepool United last won at Scunthorpe. After Paul Dalton's header found the Glanford Park net in March 1990, Pools have not had as much as a sniff of success there.

The way Saturday's game went, it could be another 21 years before Pools lose there, such was their dominance and the paucity of The Iron's game.

As far as bogey grounds go, this is it. Petrol was £1.81 a gallon when Pools last won there, and Gazza was nothing more than a World Cup hopeful. James Poole, who started up front on Saturday, was born four days later.

Pools have been promoted three times since, one of them at Glanford Park - and even the promotion party was a damp squib as they managed to move up a division while losing 4-0.

Even their last goal there was in December 1997, a Darren Knowles strike from distance.

But they were in control from start to finish on this occasion. Scunthorpe were desperate and if former Pools defender Micky Nelson can't get a game in central defence for Alan Knill's side then he must be struggling.

The visitors were one-up at the break and could have been three to the good. At the other end, goalkeeper Andy Rafferty was rarely troubled on only his second start and he will have had harder days playing for Horden in the Northern League than he did here.

To his credit, when he was called to arms, he was confident and assured and can take great encouragement from this performance.

Strong at the back and lively up front, this was - again - a textbook away day performance from Pools. They've won five on the road this season and sit, with a game in hand, two points off the play-off zone and with back to back games to come at Victoria Park.

In front of their own fans there's only been two victories this season. Yeovil, third bottom, and Preston, no wins in eight, arrive next.

"A lot has been said about home form, but our away form is among the best in the league and we don't have any fear about going anywhere,'' reflected Andy Monkhouse.

"This was a near-perfect away performance from front to back. There is a belief away from home and we don't know as a set of players, the gaffer doesn't know, but we come away and get results and we can't at home.

"We need to sort it out and we have two home games coming up to do it. It's a long time since we won here, but we can forget that now.

"I don't want to sound big headed or anything, but we were quite comfortable.

"So there's a lot of belief in the dressing room and no-one can argue with our away form.''

Monkhouse scored his first of the season on Saturday as he reinvents and refreshes himself as a striker.

He ran across the penalty area, fed Gary Liddle and his surge ahead was checked only for Monkhouse to pick up the loose ball, turn and with his right-foot shoot low into the corner.

It was his first strike since March.

He should have had a second soon after, spooning a header wayward from six yards.

"The lads are saying it was an own goal - no chance,'' he said. "Sometimes you need a scruffy one to get off the mark and this was it for me.

"I was very disappointed with the header I missed, I should be putting them away and could have had two.

"I hit the post against Sheffield Wednesday, hit the bar last week and it makes you wonder what you have to do to score. Maybe this was a bit scruffy, but I'll take it.

"I never thought of myself as a centre-forward, although Mick said that's how he saw me when he first came to the club.

"I'm not too sure about that, but he's put me up there the last few weeks and it's worked well. Poolie reads my flicks and gets in behind and it's good.

"Hopefully it continues.

"It's big man, little man partnership and if I can win my share of headers and flick-ons, all the better.''

Poole's pace and incessant willingness to harrass and chase causes plenty of problems. And, just as he did at Chesterfield in Pools' last away win, the home defenders were chased into the ground.

He didn't score this time, but Antony Sweeney got his welcome first of the season. Evan Horwood's corner was sent back to the left-back and his curling ball was measured for Sweeney to head in from six yards.

Rafferty was then finally asked to make a stop, going down low to keep out a curling free-kick that came around the defensive wall and bounced into his body to complete the routine win.

MATCHFACTS

Goals:

0-1: Monkhouse (21, turned on a loose ball to bounce a low shot into the bottom corner from 18 yards)

0-2: Sweeney (77, thumped a close-range header in at the near post from Horwood's cross)

Bookings: Hartley (33, dissent), Austin (63, time wasting), Wright (88, foul), Grant (90, foul)

Referee: Andy Woolmer (Kettering): Wrongly booked Hartley when Horwood was the guilty party and part of an embarrassing decision to award a throw instead of a corner to Pools 4

Attendance: 3,861

Entertainment: 3/5

SCUNTHORPE UNITED (4-4-2): Slocombe 5; Wright 5 (Norwood 78), Reid 4, S Duffy 3, Nolan 5; Ajose 3 (Thompson 46, 6), Togwell 5, O'Connor 6, Barcham 5 (M Duffy 68, 4); Dagnall 5, Grant 5. Subs (not used): Canavan, Johnstone.

HARTLEPOOL UNITED (4-4-2):

8 Rafferty: Deserved all the praise from his teammates at the end. Not over worked, but did everything asked of him

with confidence and belief;

7 Austin: Superb at Orient two weeks previous, poor against Stevenage, but a

typically tenacious performance this time

8 Wright: Read each situation he was presented with well and used his ‘kick, bollock and bite' mantra to the full

7 Hartley: Wrongly booked, but as switched on and drilled as he always is. Good understanding with Wright.

7 Horwood: Returned to left back and produced his most composed performance of the season, setting up Sweeney for

the second goal;

5 Solano: When he gives the ball away it's noticeable as it's such a rare event and while some of his passing was normal high standards, he did lose the ball a few times

6 Liddle: Mopped up plenty of loose balls and showed signs of getting back towards his better form

6 Murray: Tidy and simple in possession and always seemed to have enough space to get on with his game

6 Sweeney: In and out the game, but never stopped trying to get involved and was rewarded for his efforts with a goal, his first of the season;

8 Monkhouse: Scored one, should have had two. Always a danger in probing around the hopeless home central

defenders and growing into his

new role

7 Poole: Away from home his pace and energy is a constant menace and once again it was the case. Linked up well with his teammates.

Subs:

Humphreys (for Solano 71)

Haslam (for Murray 86)

Boyd (for Poole 88)

(not used): Luscombe, Baldwin.

MAN OF THE MATCH

ANDY Monkhouse - after years as a left-winger in the game, he is proving himself as a centre forward now