Whaddon Road breathed a collective sigh of relief as Cheltenham Town finally rediscovered that winning feeling after an agonising wait of three months.

Boss Martin Allen's side threw away leads in six of a 16-match winless run that has often been as infuriating as it has disappointing, casting the club adrift at the foot of the League One table.

But on this occasion they held onto a slender lead for 64 minutes before killing the game off with an 89th-minute second from substitute Nicholas Bignall.

It was the first time Cheltenham have won a match by a two-goal margin since Allen took over last September and only the second time this season they have achieved that feat.

The only source of frustration on an otherwise satisfying day for the club was the fact that Hartlepool were no worse than a number of other clubs that have somehow taken three points off Cheltenham.

Andy Lindegaard, recalled from his loan spell at Aldershot, slotted in at right-back, allowing David Bird to move into his preferred central midfield role.

With Bird controlling the middle of the pitch, the well-balanced team functioned effectively, perhaps with the pressure now off, in stark contrast to the previous home fixture, a miserable 1-0 defeat by Northampton Town.

Returning central defenders Drissa Diallo and Michael Townsend gave dominant performances and aside from a few edgy miscued clearances, Cheltenham looked relatively comfortable.

Hartlepool started the second half strongly and pressed for 10 minutes, but Cheltenham weathered the storm, with goalkeeper Scott Brown making several fine stops.

By that time, Elvis Hammond had opened the scoring from the penalty spot 11 minutes before half-time, registering his third goal in three games.

The penalty was given for a handball by Hartlepool skipper Michael Nelson and Hammond was Cheltenham's eighth different taker this season – all but one of them being successful.

There have been times this season when Hammond has looked a long way short of the standard required to play regularly at this level, but he is showing definite signs of improvement.

The 28-year-old Ghanaian still has work to do, but if his steady progress can continue he may yet justify the 18-month contract handed to him by Allen at the start of the year.

Bignall, another player who has been subject to criticism in recent weeks, gave a glimpse of his true potential in the 89th minute to put the seal on Cheltenham's victory.

He turned sharply in the penalty area before firing in a low shot that evaded the despairing dive of Pool goalkeeper Arran Lee-Barrett, making him the 23rd different goalscorer this season – 25 if you count own goals against Northampton and Millwall.

Allen can take satisfaction from the fact that two players he has brought to the club scored the goals.

However, three players who have been allowed to leave the club on loan this season also shone.

Lindegaard made an acrobatic clearance off the line shortly before half-time top to spare the otherwise outstanding Bird the embarrassment of an own goal.

Josh Low, who has been in and out of the side since his return from Forest Green, set up the second for Bignall and Townsend, who spent three months at Barnet, appeared to have been taking lessons from Diallo about how to generate distance with clearing headers.

There have been times when Allen has had no choice but to allow players to leave for financial reasons, but he has been guilty of unnecessarily alienating others who are capable of performing well in League One.

It is highly unlikely that the team Allen inherited was strong enough to survive for a third successive year, but with two or three additions, it could have mounted another serious challenge.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and the season did start with some worryingly heavy defeats, but if Allen had spent more time carefully assessing the players already at the club before obliterating the squad, the club would probably be in a healthier position financially as well as being closer to the safety line.

Cheltenham (4-4-2): Brown; Lindegaard, Townsend, Diallo, Ridley; Low, Bird, Westlake, Spencer (Bignall 63); Connor (Watkins 87), Hammond (Gallinagh 68). Subs not used: Puddy, Durrant.

Hartlepool (4-4-2): Lee-Barrett; Liddle, Nelson, Collins, Humphreys; Sweeney, Clark, Monkhouse, Mackay (Foley 61); Parker Porter (Robson 86), Subs not used: Jones, Cook, Henderson.