Simon Grayson saw his Blackpool side hit the heady heights of 16th in the table after recovering from an early sending off to give confidence-free Hartlepool a thrashing in their own back yard.

It took just 10 minutes for Neil Wood to earn his first Blackpool red card for a poorly timed challenge on former Seasiders triallist, Gavin Strachan. The tackle wasn't pretty, but perhaps a straight red was a little over the top.

That kind of incident could and probably would have spelt curtains for a Blackpool team just a few weeks ago but Grayson's men showed steel and resolve to stay in the game before getting the break they deserved.

Michael Barron hauled down Keigan Parker inside the area. The big defender got himself a red card and Peter Clarke stepped up to convert from the spot.

Hartlepool had a chance to hit back against the run of play when Tony Butler handled in his own area on 71 minutes but substitute Adam Boyd, introduced after a lengthy injury absence, saw his shot well saved.

At the other end Parker dashed in behind the defence again and claimed a second penalty after Michael Nelson, having a torrid afternoon against Parker's pace, brought him down. Clarke converted again and there was still time for Parker to grab a goal for himself, beating Nelson again to fire home.