HARTLEPOOL UNITED’S win at Torquay secured back to back league victories for the first time in a year.

Not since September 1 last year have Pools earned six points from six – and now Craig Hignett has urged his players to make it nine from nine when they go to Barrow on Tuesday evening.

The manager told BBC Tees: “It’s two wins in two and Monday was important but would have meant nothing if we didn’t follow it up here.

“We could have been two or three up at half-time and I said to the players that they were a good side and we knew they would come back at us.

“We had 25 minutes when we had to stand up and be counted and came up through the other side with a fantastic winner rom Peter.

“We know he can belt a ball and the energy he showed was phenomenal and the strike was worthy of the Premier League.

“It gave us the momentum to see the job out.’’

Pools led through Jason Kennedy’s header, his first for the club, before they were pegged back at the start of the second half by some home pressure.

But Peter Kioso latched onto Gime Toure’s lay-off to crack home the winner with ten minutes to go.

Pools’ attacker Luke Molyneux has been ruled out for a further three months after ankle surgery. He was wiped out by York’s Paddy McLaughlin in pre-season and after his recovery was stalled, he had an operation on Friday.

Hignett said: “Luke had we hoped, his operation would be a clean up of his ankle, but there’s more in there than we thought and he has had an operation to remove fragments of bone. From two to four weeks it now looks like 12 weeks before he’s back.

“It’s six weeks without doing anything, then his rehab so it’s three months now and it’s about keeping plugging away and getting the lad fit.’’

POOLS: Killip; Cunningham, Raynes, Kerr; Kitching, Mafuta, Noble (Featherstone 83), Kennedy, Kioso; James (Donaldson 73), Toure. Subs (not used): Bale, Hawkes, Holohan