AS a regular penalty-taker during his days with Sunderland, Martin Scott knows a thing or two about scoring from the spot.

But even his experiences couldn't prepare Hartlepool United's caretaker manager for Tuesday night's dramatic events.

A 2-0 victory for Tranmere cancelled out Pool's first-leg result and, after 120 minutes of action, it was down to a sudden-death spot-kick shoot-out to determine who would face Sheffield Wednesday at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium a week on Sunday.

The script was written for Ritchie Humphreys to exorcise his demons of Cheltenham in 2002 and the former Hillsborough starlet secured the biggest day in the club's history at Britain's finest stadium.

Scott looked on from the touchline with his staff, squad and 2,300 fans as Pool finally won a play-off tie after losing out on four previous occasions - including a penalty shoot-out three years ago when Humphreys' kick stayed out and Cheltenham progressed at Pool's expense.

"I used to take penalties for Sunderland so I know what it takes and I know what it's like to take a penalty under pressure,'' said the former Roker Park crowd favourite, who notched seven from the spot in a red and white shirt.

"If you don't want to take one, it takes just as much to say you don't want one as it does to say you want one.

"Some lads didn't want to take one but others were saying straight away they wanted one.

"And the five who stepped up, they all really wanted it. Then it comes down to other players who didn't necesarily want to take one.''

Humphreys stepped forward knowing his spot kick wouldn't knock Pool out of the competition but could win it. His effort at Cheltenham was score or bust.

Scott paid tribute to the ever-present midfielder after his left-footed strike found the back of the net.

He said: "Ritchie showed great character. He broke out from the squad and stepped forward. I suppose it was a bit like Stuart Pearce in Euro 96, he showed great courage.

"There was a great desire from him to put it away in such circumstances.

"In the back of his mind may have been Cheltenham and what happened there a few years ago but Ritchie has been captain of this side a lot and he showed at Tranmere what a great character he is as well.''

As well as Scott's penalty-taking experience, the former Black Cats' left-back took a lot of pride from the defensive solidity shown by Micky Nelson and Chris Westwood. The pair had a busy night as Rovers took the game to Pool and Scott admitted: "You have to give credit to Tranmere because they battered us at times.

"I don't think they could have done any more but we defended for our lives and our central defenders were immense.

"When they play well as a pair, we play well as a team. As a former defender I like to do a lot of work on the training ground on that side of the game and they have taken a lot on board.

"I was disappointed with the possession we had, we didn't have enough of the ball, but you have to understand we knew what to expect.

"I didn't want to have ten men behind the ball for long periods but that is what happened.

"The way we defended I was always quite confident we could do it, but when they scored it lifted the tempo and the second goal was an outstanding strike.''

Pool's best period of the game came in extra time, as they finally started to show some ambition going forward.

Tony Sweeney and Joel Porter created chances and the introduction of Thomas Butler - another former Sunderland player - helped Pool keep the ball.

"In extra time we finished quite strong and I keep saying we are one of the fittest teams in the division,'' said Scott, whose fourth game in charge of Pool will be the final.

"Thomas is a quality player; he is good on the ball and it's nice to have quality players like him on the bench. He did exceptionally well at Bournemouth on the last day of the season to help us into the play-offs and he did it again.''

Pool have lost play-offs to Darlington, Blackpool, Cheltenham and Bristol City before finally breaking their jinx.

Thoughts of Bristol City, where Pool conceded twice in the last few minutes to lose the tie, came to mind as Rovers piled on the pressure.

It's taken the Victoria Park faithful a long time to erase the memories of Ashton Gate and Scott dedicated Tuesday's triumph to the supporters.

"They've been through a lot in the play-offs over the years and they deserve it,'' he said. "They will enjoy Cardiff, no doubt about it.

"It will be a massive occasion, I'm a Sheffield lad so from a personal point of view I will enjoy it, with a lot of family going down.

"We enjoyed Tuesday, then the focus turned immediately to Cardiff. There's a long gap between games so it's not ideal but it gives you the chance to regroup and focus. It will be a great occasion.

"We beat them the other week and played ever so well against them but it means nothing now.

"We will try to win the game and it's a frightening thought that this club could be playing Championship football next season.''

* Hartlepool have requested 22,500 tickets for the play-off final. Details will be made public soon on how these can be purchased.

* Pool will wear their third-choice red away kit for the final.

Read more about Hartlepool here.