A DEBUT goal from on-loan striker Danny Nardiello fired Bury to their first win at home in nine matches.

The 31-year-old Rotherham forward capped a man-of-the-match performance with a cultured strike in the 48th-minute, curling home from just inside the box.

It was all Bury deserved after controlling the game against their mid-table opponents from start to finish and stretched their unbeaten run to four matches.

The Shakers were cheered off at the end of a goalless first half after dominating possession and chances.

Tommy Miller – in for suspended captain Andy Procter – had the first effort on target in only the third minute, seeing his header from Chris Sedgwick’s corner plucked out of the air by Pool keeper Scott Flinders as it headed towards the top corner.

While the two sides looked evenly matched, Nardiello was clearly a class above the rest and he didn’t take long to create his first opening.

The run of the former Manchester United forward was well found by a Brian Jensen clearance in the sixth minute, but he failed to execute an audacious attempted chip over the on-rushing Flinders.

After a series of impressive flicks and half-chances, Nardiello then tested Flinders with a fierce drive in the 19th minute, which the keeper almost let slip through his grasp but gathered at the second attempt.

The two teams cancelled each other out as the half wore on before Craig Jones popped up with a decent curled shot 10 minutes before the break that was well held by the Hartlepool keeper.

The winger then flung himself at a deep Sedgwick cross at the far post that, if he had managed any kind of contact, would have been a certain goal.

Nardiello finally made his class count just after the break when he brought down a Shaun Beeley throw in the box and turned sharply before curling a low shot past the unsighted Flinders.

Nardiello’s debut goal for Bury was the Rotherham striker’s sixth goal of the season but his first in nine matches after struggling for form with the Millers before being released to join the Shakers a fortnight ago.

His strike partner, Danny Hylton, and captain-for-the-night Tom Soares missed a series of half chances as Bury looked content to sit back and protect their lead.

Soares then condemned the 1,700 fans inside the JD Stadium to a nervous final 10 minutes after squandering a gilt-edged opportunity in the box, failing to bring a Hylton knockdown under control before seeing his side-footed effort deflected wide.

And Hartlepool almost made him pay, as striker Luke James broke into the box in the 85th minute but his lofted cross over Jensen was headed over his own crossbar by left-back Dean Howell.

And the crowd lifted the roof at the final whistle after witnessing their first Bury win since August 31, which lifted them one place to 20th position in League Two.