Darryl Duffy scored right on the final whistle as Hartlepool United finally broke through a stubborn Peterborough United defence to clinch their eighth straight victory and condemn Keith Alexander's men to a fourth straight defeat over the festive period.

Posh boss Keith Alexander lost the services of Peter Gain before the game due to a painful wisdom tooth and Jamie Day was sick ahead of the kick-off, so dropped down to the substitutes bench, which also included Adam Fry.

It was Alexander's men who got the game underway in the red away strip kicking towards the Pool fans in the terrace behind the goal. The match also kicked off in rain as the earlier sunshine was wiped away by an overcast afternoon.

Some excellent defending from Craig Morgan stopped Darryl Duffy from volleying the hosts in front on three minutes after Mark Arber had been beaten by the pace and skill of Andy Monkhouse. The on-loan Monkhouse then swerved a shot wide of the upright as Posh struggled to get the ball out of their own half.

Williams then glanced a header wide of the target after a patient build-up down the left hand side where Posh were finding a few early problems. Danny Crow tested Konstantopoulos with a fierce half volley on 13 minutes after beating the offside trap, but the Greek goalkeeper was equal to the well-struck effort.

Aaron Mclean then saw his skidding deflected shot saved by the Pools goalkeeper after racing onto a Yeo through-ball and the referee Mr Bates then took exception to Mclean's attempts at the rebound, cautioning the striker.

On-loan goalkeeper Paul Rachunka made a smart stop with his feet to deny Williams after the ball rather fortunately fell into his path off his strike partner Duffy as the move progressed in midfield.

Monkhouse squandered a good opportunity to score on 23 minutes after finding room inside the six-yard box, but his left-foot shot rolled past the far post and out for a goal-kick.

Rachubka then gathered a Sweeney shot comfortably after the talented midfielder skipped past Futcher and unleashed a 25-yard effort. Butcher then tested Konstantopoulos with a low shot from distance after reading a flick on from Mclean in the midfield.

Hartlepool were inches away from the breakthrough as Duffy saw a deflected shot creep just past the post after Futcher had initially denied Sweeney with a fine tackle following a long punt down forward from Clark.

The hosts had penalty appeals turned down a couple of minutes before the interval as Yeo appeared to handle as the ball bounced up, but the referee rightly waved the protests away.

A snap-shot from Crow was well-held by Konstantopoulos after Newton had delivered an accurate ball into the front man's path. The referee then brought a half to the proceedings and Posh will be happy with the 0-0 score-line.

The rain was continuing to pour down and the surface was even more slick as the two team re-emerged for the second period. Posh won the first corner kick of the second 45 minutes as Arber's low cross caused a moment of confusion in the Pool back-line with Clark hacking the ball away from danger.

From the resulting flag-kick, Posh were desperately close to the opener as Morgan met the deep corner powerfully, but he couldn't direct it on target and it whistled past the post.

On the counter-attack, Pool nearly squeezed home the breakthrough as Duffy skipped past Branston, but his low shot was pushed wide with his fingertips by Rachubka as the pressure began to build on the Posh defence.

Boland then fired over after Branston was again beaten, but the lack of protection up front from Mclean in particular was causing Posh's downfall as the attacks were allowed to continually be created by Danny Wilson's side.

Morgan did well to block from Duffy on 64 minutes after the striker broke clear as Pool continued to press. Monkhouse headed a cross-cum-shot from Boland wide at the far post as another attempt was created.

Branston blocked fantastically from Williams as Pool won yet another set-piece. Jude Stirling replaced Huke for the final 15 minutes with Pool introducing Lee Bullock for Brown.

A towering header from Mclean brought some brief respite as he met a deep Arber cross, but he couldn't direct it on target. Rachunka denied Sweeney's fierce low shot on 86 minutes as the ball fell invitingly on the edge of the area before Foley's long range drive drifted just over the top.

Hartlepool turned defence into attack as a long Stirling throw was cleared with Sweeney winning a corner at the other end. Right at the death just when it looked like Posh would hold out, the hosts got their noses in front as Foley picked a way through to goal, his initial shot was saved by Rachunka, but DUFFY was on hand to poke the ball home from close-range.

Substitute Foley nearly added a second deep into stoppage time but his drive went wide. It didn't matter though, the Pools were the victors and the concentration levels at the back for Posh were spot on for 89 minutes, but one lapse and it was a fourth straight defeat.

Final Score: Hartlepool United 1-0 Peterborough United

Referee: Tony Bates (Staffordshire)
Attendance: 4,654 (182 Posh fans)