A LITTLE over two and a half years ago and Hartlepool United and Bournemouth were League One rivals. There’s now four divisions between the sides – and how it showed last night.

The Cherries, who flew to the North-East yesterday in the private jet of their millionaire Russian owner, were untouchable as they cracked four unanswered goals past Pools.

“It was a long, long 90 minutes we wanted to get in their faces and stop them and we couldn’t get near them,’’ reflected Pools’ boss Ronnie Moore.

“Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit you can’t get near them.

“We won’t come up against anyone like that at our level. Our young lads want to play at that level and they need a serious look at themselves and ask if they can?’’

The possession statistics read Hartlepool 39%, Bournemouth 61%. It appeared a generous total for Pools.

As far as games go, at least Pools won’t come up against opposition of a similar ilk for the rest of their regulation season.

And Moore was quick to point out that all focus is now on Carlisle, who Pools meet at Victoria Park on Saturday.

After winning at West Ham on Saturday, the Cherries made 11 changes to their starting line-up. That meant a first start for Lee Tomlin, the summer signing from Middlesbrough who probed around the Pools defence without hurting them as much as his team-mates managed.

The Cherries struck the bar after two minutes, Christian Atsu’s fierce shot cannoning down.

Pools managed a corner on 22 minutes, a rare break forward, but it came to nothing.

And eight minutes later the first goal arrived, as Yann Kermorgant finished with an assist from Atsu, on loan from Chelsea fort the season.

Five minutes later Dan Gosling, a Newcastle midfielder, was fed by Tomlin and he drilled home.

Pools hoped to see the half-out, but they were still punished further.

Michael Woods made a tired-looking foul on Kermorgant around 25 yards from goal.

Junior Stanislas took free-kick and curled over the wall, right into the top corner. Adam Bartlett in goal had no chance of saving.

At the opposite end, centre-half Andrew Boyce, headed the ball into the hands of Adam Federici for the keeper’s first touch on 51 minutes.

Bartlett was quick off his line to deny Tomlin with a low smother, before goal number four on 64 minutes.

Atsu’s pass created the hole for Stanislas to run into, motor around the keeper to slot into an empty net.

For a number of seasons, the Cherries have been a principled side who play a swift passing game. Last night was no exception. They never hit a long ball from back to front all night, played everything through midfield triangles and into feet.

There’s worse Premier League teams than Bournemouth. On this showing there’s worse Premier League teams than their back-up XI.

Astu went off to firm applause on 79 minutes and Pools, to their credit, kept going to the end.

Rakish Bingham was presented with three openings, but squandered them all.

Moore added: “We never got near them, but sometimes there’s not a lot you can do. The pace throughout their team and movement and brightness and alertness is something different to what we come up against.

“My players watched and it’s hard to know what we will learn as we won’t come up against it. Yet we had chances late on, Bings could have had two or three, but we kept it better second-half.

“The game won’t damage my players, it’s hard for them but they don’t play that sort of standard every week. We won’t get carried away by losing 4-0 to a Premier League side, but we prepare for Carlisle.’’

Howe added: “It’s a professional performance, the mentality was good and it’s a tough place to come, we were focused.

“It’s not long ago this was a League One game and we loved out lower league years, they were good times for us. It’s nice to come back here to a ground we have visited over the years and it’s a show of how far the club has progressed.

“But you have to do the basics well and the ugly things well. And we did it well.’’

MATCHFACTS

Goals: Kermorgant 30, Gosling 34, Sanislas 44, 64

Booking: Cargill (56, foul)

Referee: Carl Boyeson (Hull) 5

Attendance: 4,890

Entertainment: 5/5

HARTLEPOOL UNITED (4-3-3): Bartlett 6; Duckworth 6, Harrison 6, Boyce 5, Carroll 6; Featherstone 7, Woods 6 (Walker 65, 6), Magnay 7; Oates 6 (Smith 65, 5), Paynter 5 (Fenwick 46, 6), Bingham 5. Subs (not used): Denton (gk), Oyenuga, Nelson-Addy, Jones.

AFC BOURNEMOUTH (4-4-2): Federici 5; Smith 8 (Butcher 77), Cargill 6, Distin 7, Mings 7, Astu 9 (Ritchie 77); Stanislas 9, Gosling 8, MacDonald 7; Tomlin 7, Kermorgant 7 (Rantie 64, 7). Subs (not used): Allsop (gk), Surman, Ritchie, Ward, Costa, Rantie.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Christian Astu – on loan from Chelsea and what a prospect