LAST week Hartlepool United bewildered their fans as they threw away a two-goal advantage.

This time, they somehow managed to do even worse to turn a 3-1 advantage into a 4-3 defeat.

And after this heartache don't be surprised to see a steady stream of blue-and-white-shirted Lemming-like fans walking off the end of the Heugh Breakwater ino the North Sea as they try to comprehend what happened.

Twelve minutes to go and Pool held a seemingly unassailable lead.

Ask anyone in the ground who was going to win the game and there was only one answer.

The Mansfield fans who had left as Pool's third goal went in would have needed more than one look at the result to realise what they missed.

Goals from Sam Shilton, Kevin Henderson and Tony Lormor sent Pool into second-half dreamland - by the end it was the defence caught dreaming as a triple blast within five minutes reversed the score.

But how Pool threw it away should be the subject of a public enquiry.

Pool boss Chris Turner will hold his own.

Part one came in the confines of Field Mill, with the sequel to undoubtedly come this morning on the training ground after the normally placid manager has cooled off.

Turner was steaming after handing his charges a dressing room dressing down.

"I just cannot believe what I saw,'' he fumed.

"We were 3-1 up and coasting. Me and Colin West are doing our jobs, motivating and telling them what to do, but there's some other people out there who aren't.

"Apart from going out there and showing them what to do and doing it ourselves, we cannot do any more.

"We were screaming at them to keep going, then people have to mess about with the ball and take their time.

"I hate to criticise the players through the Press, but I have to take a look at what they have done. The game was there for us and then what?

"Our success of last season was built on solid defence and even if we had come away with a point I would have been disappointed, but to go 3-1 up with 12 minutes to go - I just cannot believe it.

"The players have got to look at themselves and examine what they are doing.

"We were rubbish in the first half and the people I feel sorry for are the fans.

"I just wish some players would show the same commitment and passion to win games that they do.

"I feel so sorry for them because we didn't deserve them and they don't deserve what happened in the last two games.

"We are still missing some players, but I don't like to use that as an excuse - we still have three capable centre-halfs.''

And with tricky home games against York and Darlington on the horizon, the Pool chief insisted that changes are in the pipeline.

"I won't tolerate it,'' he vowed. "I've got to make changes and make decisions to change it because we are not going to do it with this side at the moment - one or two backsides need kicking.

"Hartlepool are going soft and the players have gone soft.

"We were not getting tight on players, there was no determination to stop a cross or a shot - defenders have got to take the blame for that, it was schoolboy stuff.

"It's very, very rarely that I have to have a go at them, but even though we went in at half-time level, it would have been easy to pat them on the back and say 'well done'. But they needed talking to and for half an hour we got the response.''

The three killer goals were bad enough, but Mansfield's first goal was hardly a classic as Greenacre had enough time to pick his spot from eight yards to fire home amid statuesque defending.

But on the stroke of half-time Henderson picked out Lormor with a searching ball and his nod down was perfect for the on-rushing Sam Shilton to net.

For 30 minutes of the second period, Pool dominated and Mansfield were as ragged and downhearted as Macclesfield seven days earlier.

Lormor's first "real" goal for Pool - his only other was a lucky deflection - came with a cool finish after being fed by Paul Stephenson, and how he lapped up a goal against his old club.

And not to be outdone, Henderson bulleted home a 20-yard drive to surely secure a Pool win.

Henderson and Lormor have their critics - but they had fired Pool in front and can hardly be blamed for the costly late farce.

Last season it was the defence that helped Pool into the play-offs, this time it is leaking. How many of these goals would have been conceded in the closing months of last season?

This campaign Pool have been in front against Burnley, Chesterfield, Exeter, Macclesfield and now Mansfield without managing to hold on.

Michael Boulding was allowed to twist and turn his way through the penalty area without any interference from a defender to pull one back and the nerves and the "here-we-go-again" syndrome had arrived.

Greenacre levelled from six yards after an unchecked cross from the flank.

The winner was the sort of shot that if it had come at any other time would have undoubtedly troubled the home fans behind the goal in Row Z.

Instead a left-footed shot from the right-footed Wayne Corden flew past Anthony Williams and rather than sitting in eighth spot with a comfortable 14 points, Pool are 17th thinking not what might have been, but what should be