IT’S BEEN a long time since Hartlepool United had something to celebrate on a Saturday. It’s been a while since a pint of Strongarm has tasted so good.

There’s been 158 days since Pools won on a Saturday at Victoria Park. That’s five months since home supporters left with a smile on their faces.

Not that there’s much cheer around the place right now, but while the off-field problems won’t go away, at least there was some brief respite.

When Pools beat Dagenham on September 9 they made it three wins in a row and were confident of making inroads on the top seven after a miserable opening to the season.

“Fylde was the straw that broke the camel’s back and we knew we have to run more, tackle, outbattle the opposition,’’ reflected boss Craig Harrison back in the autumn.

He said similar last week. This time the breaking point was the finances, the issue which threatens the club’s very existence.

So on Saturday they put the troubles to bed, and they ran, chased, pressed and put three goals past poor opposition in 45 minutes.

Whatever happens off the pitch, then performances like this will at least give people a bit of pride back.

They can now go to Halifax tomorrow night with a bit of pressure off their shoulders.

Pools last win before Saturday was a 4-0 victory over the Shaymen, when they were three goals up at half-time.

That was on November 21, some 11 games before.

It was also the last time Pools fielded Devante Rodney, Jake Cassidy and Rhys Oates as a front three. Oates scored that night too.

“Devante took his goal well, could have had more,’’ reflected Harrison. “He is a very young lad who hasn’t played a lot of football – he is only 19. He will score goals and he will do other things and will improve with more hours in training and more game-time.

“The front three were excellent, power, pace, aggression. Oatesy has been out a long time and came through it, Cass has done well up front against their defenders.

“Cass took his goal well and it’s a boost for him. I’ve had a long history with him since he was 17 and I signed him in Wales at Airbus at 16 and he was bouncing men about, he’s been to Wolves and had a decent career.

“A couple of injuries have hampered him and we have not got to see the best of him. He’s come back early and now he’s playing he will finish the season strong.

“Rhys was tired, and the fitness staff have done a great job with him to get him strong and ready. He should be OK fitness-wise, as fit and strong he has been in a long-time and he’s been worked hard.’’

As the Cards defence collapsed like a pack of cards, they made a complete mess of clearing their lines, Rodney nipped in, took a touch and cracked home. His movement and strike were reminiscent of his goals against Doncaster on the final day of last season.

The second came as Cassidy turned and smashed a rising shot home as Pools kept the ball alive and kept the opposition penned in.

For the third, Connor Newton showed some determination to collect possession and his chip into the area was met by Oates, as visiting keeper Nathan Baxter flapped.

Pools have crumbled away from home on enough occasions this season in the manner the Cards did.

Harrison’s side should have had many more, with plenty of chances coming their way. Cassidy had a 25-yard piledriver tipped over, he then rolled the ball across goal without anyone there to tap in, while Rodney twice fired over from great positions in the area.

Two late goals for the visitors made the scoreline look a lot closer than it really way.

Pools did defend well, with Scott Harrison and Louis Laing looking like a competent partnership.

Alongside them, they had Luke George at full-back. He may have been short of match practice following an injury-hit season, but he showed the sort of traits Pools have lacked – aggression, fight and organisation.

He was always talking to his team-mates. Sometimes the simplest of things can make the biggest difference.

Boss Harrison admitted: “The win is a big one. The club needed it. That’s the most important thing. However long people are at a club – players and manager- and these are testing times.

“We can only try and add to it on the pitch and our game plan worked well. The lads have had an intense week in training – tactics, analysis – and we wanted to force Woking long to allow us to defend the long ball.

“Hopefully this is the start of a winning run. Look back at the ugly game at Guiseley which got us going and we went 17 games with only three defeats and if we can go the last 14 games without defeat we will be in a good place.’’