Graham Westley was pleased to see his side start 2013 by collected all three points in the north east.
“Three points is always valuable, when you have had a tough run of results, big players are out and things are not going your way it is a real positive to get that winning vibe back. It has been a while in the league, we needed those points and everybody knew that.”
“The finishing could have been better, we could have scored more goals but everybody in the dressing room is delighted to have put in a hardworking display, a display full of character and a winning display.
“Our finishing lacks a bit of clinicality at the moment because when things are not going your way and you haven’t had the results that you want, there is that little bit of nervousness and apprehension in your play, it is inevitable.
“We could have scored more goals but we have all seen difficult runs come to an end with the type of performance were a side gets itself together, shows a lot of character but doesn’t play with the confidence that you get when you are winning.
“The boys did good backs to the wall job with good counter attacking threat in the second half and it is pleasing to win all three points.
“Those are all the things you need to be when you are in the kind of run that we are in, we haven’t won a league game in some time and confidence wasn’t going to be there.
“It took the edge off us in the second half because we were still in shock. We scored from a set play and in the second half we worked hard, we were organised and very difficult to break down.
“We scored from a set piece, won a penalty but missed and there were a lot of shockwaves coming through the football club and certainly through the dugout and the team.
“They were always going to work hard and take the confidence from the weekend into the game. We knew that we had to knuckle down and work very hard at our game to get the result.
The gaffer said: “We knew we needed to bounce back after a disappointing result at the weekend and Hartlepool buoyed by the win at Sheffield United; they were never going to be an easy opposition to face.”
Pleased with his side’s efforts against the Pools, Westley joked that the decision to award PNE a penalty completely shocked everybody after 3,689 minutes without one.
It soon became an afternoon of firsts, with North End awarded their first penalty of the season plus Club captain John Mousinho scoring his first competitive goal for PNE with a close range header just before the half time whistle.
The Lilywhites, donning their pink strip for the first time in a competitive fixture this season, claimed their fourth consecutive win over Hartlepool United on a cold afternoon at Victoria Park.
“The finishing could have been better, we could have scored more goals but everybody in the dressing room is delighted to have put in a hardworking display, a display full of character and a winning display.
“Our finishing lacks a bit of clinicality at the moment because when things are not going your way and you haven’t had the results that you want, there is that little bit of nervousness and apprehension in your play, it is inevitable.
“We could have scored more goals but we have all seen difficult runs come to an end with the type of performance were a side gets itself together, shows a lot of character but doesn’t play with the confidence that you get when you are winning.
“The boys did good backs to the wall job with good counter attacking threat in the second half and it is pleasing to win all three points.
“Those are all the things you need to be when you are in the kind of run that we are in, we haven’t won a league game in some time and confidence wasn’t going to be there.
“It took the edge off us in the second half because we were still in shock. We scored from a set play and in the second half we worked hard, we were organised and very difficult to break down.
“We scored from a set piece, won a penalty but missed and there were a lot of shockwaves coming through the football club and certainly through the dugout and the team.
“They were always going to work hard and take the confidence from the weekend into the game. We knew that we had to knuckle down and work very hard at our game to get the result.
The gaffer said: “We knew we needed to bounce back after a disappointing result at the weekend and Hartlepool buoyed by the win at Sheffield United; they were never going to be an easy opposition to face.”
Pleased with his side’s efforts against the Pools, Westley joked that the decision to award PNE a penalty completely shocked everybody after 3,689 minutes without one.
It soon became an afternoon of firsts, with North End awarded their first penalty of the season plus Club captain John Mousinho scoring his first competitive goal for PNE with a close range header just before the half time whistle.
The Lilywhites, donning their pink strip for the first time in a competitive fixture this season, claimed their fourth consecutive win over Hartlepool United on a cold afternoon at Victoria Park.