LAST week Ronnie Moore spoke of missed opportunities.

Home games under his command against Oxford and Morecambe when Hartlepool United took only one point when they should have had six.

Make that one from a should-have-been nine now after a pitiful performance against Stevenage.

Just when it looked like Pools had turned the corner – three home wins in a row for the first time in almost a year – they failed.

Midfielder Michael Woods said: "It was massively disappointing. That was a real missed opportunity - one step forward and two back.’’

Boro hadn’t won in five, were hit by injuries and had Simon Walton as captain for the day. It all added up to a Pools win. Surely...

Instead, despite a bright start, Pools offered little threat on goal. Marvin Morgan and Marlon Harewood were desperately poor, the latter especially so again.

He’s all well and good producing the odd (rare) cameo every now and again, but it’s nowhere near what is needed.

At the back, Pools didn’t have any of the authority they have played with of late. They were disturbed by the spiky nature of young striker Ben Williams and the strength and nous of experienced Chris Beardsley.

In midfield, Pools expected to get the better of Walton. He was dumped by Pools in the summer and, while he didn’t stand out here, he did the disciplined job asked of him and it wasn’t long before he was displaying the notion that he had Harewood tucked away in his pocket.

Moore said: "This was the biggest game we have had for a long, long time.

"No doubt about that, I hadn't said that to them but I knew it and they would have known.

"Yet they produce such a lacklustre performance, I wouldn't say gutless but it wasn't far off.

"We are back down to that sweat, blood and tears.

"If we had done that we'd have had half a chance, you have to be physically strong and if you do that you win the game.

"We have better individuals than them, I can't say that often.’’

Every time Pools get the chance to claw back some gap at the bottom of the table, they let themselves down with a display and result like this.

Do the players possess the mentality to make a go of it?

"It is frustrating for me not to be able to bridge that gap, and for everyone associated with the club,’’ added Moore.

"The players need to be feeling the same thing, we put them out but we can't seem to get over that little hurdle.

"We were going for our fourth home win on the trot, that would have been fantastic and closed the gap.

"I don’t say I have all the answers but I look at them and think how the hell can they go and perform like that, when they know how important it was for everybody associated with the club.

"That is the annoying thing.

"I just though they were more physical in the right areas and caused us problems because of it."

Boro, under the irascible Graham Westley, always get the better of Pools. In seven meetings Pools have never won, and even when he had a rotten time of it at Preston, he still managed two wins over Pools.

He knows how to see Pools off and this was no exception. They never allowed Pools the chance to press ahead, putting men in positions to make it hard for the home side to forget about their duties.

But all of the goals conceded could have been dealt with better. “Sunday league,’’ said Woods. He wasn’t far wrong.

Michael Duckworth was culpable for the opener, caught under the ball when it was pinged 60 yards across to the area from wide.

Number two, Neil Austin’s corner clearance was rotten, and Scott Fenwick slipped and lost his man who scored.

The final one, it appeared Scott Flinders and David Mirfin got in half a tangle over who could clear the ball as it bounced towards goal.

The closing stages of this one, with Pools 3-1 down were played out amid a flat backdrop. Supporters, so up for it in the first half, appeared resigned the outcome. There was a feeling that for the longer-term and come the outcome of the season, this was a key day.

Moore added: “Harsh words were said at half-time and full-time. We looked like we had turned a corner but you cannot turn in those performances.

"That is why we are where we are. You think you have cracked it and then put in a performance like that.’’