The Hartlepool Mail's Robbie Stelling reacts to the statement win over play-off chasing Gateshead on Easter Monday.
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00:00I'm here at the Prestige Group Stadium where impressive Hartnepool United have continued their strong end to the season,
00:06inflicting a major blow on rivals Gateshead's dwindling playoff hopes in the process following a 3-2 victory.
00:14Encounters between the two sides are never short of goal-mouth action, and this was no different with 20 goals now scored in the last three meetings between the two teams.
00:24Pools were dealt a blow prior to kick off as Tom Parks, who went off at half-time in Good Friday's defeat to Oldham following a tussle with former Pools frontman Mike Fondock was ruled out.
00:33Skipper Luke Waterfall, who replaced him at the break, was also sidelined with an injury, meaning Pools started with a back three of Billy Sass-Davies, David Ferguson and Louis Stevenson,
00:42who returned from his suspension following his red card against Dagenham and Redbridge.
00:46Nonetheless, it didn't take the hosts long to assert themselves on the game, and they went ahead when Luke Charman ended a run of 15 games without a goal,
00:54capitalising on the first of a number of goalkeeping errors after Tiernan Brooks parried Reyes Cleary's free kick up rather than away.
01:03Pools doubled their lead when the impressive Reyes Cleary continued his blistering loan spell, firing an effort underneath Brooks to score his seventh goal.
01:13Since arriving from West Brom in January, Jovan Malcolm handed Gateshead a lifeline with a free kick three minutes into the second half.
01:22Adam Smith perhaps not quite getting his angles right, but Pools rallied well and restored their two-goal cushion,
01:28where Manny Disarue scored his 17th goal of the campaign after Brooks had parried an effort from the lively Reyes Cleary.
01:36Gateshead threatened to get back into the game late on when Jamie Bramwell scored his first Heed goal,
01:43but Pools held on through seven minutes of added time to inflict a big blow on Gateshead's play-off hopes.
01:49The gap between the Heed and Southend now just two points after the Shrimp has thumped around the Gated Ebsley.
01:54The gap between the Heed and Southend now just one point after the Shrimp was declared after the Game of the Game of the Game of the Game of the Game of the Game.