TRANMERE and Hartlepool shared a point in a 1-1 draw as Pools' boss Ronnie Moore's return to Prenton Park.

Moore's second stint as Tranmere manager ended last April when he was initially suspended and later dismissed after being found guilty of breaching the FA's rules regarding betting.

He was given a standing ovation by many of the Tranmere fans - but it looked like being an unhappy return as Kayode Odejayi put the home side ahead on 12 minutes.

The lead lasted just two minutes as Scott Fenwick hit back almost immediately and bottom-of-the-table Hartlepool held on for a vital point.

Michael Woods had two early openings for Pools, keeper Owain Fon Willams saving superbly to keep out the second shot from distance.

Buoyed in confidence from their goal, Pools took the game to the home side but, try as they might, they could not find a winner, Matthew Bates firing inches wide from the edge of the area.

Adams said: "I'm disappointed with the performance, Hartlepool were the better team on the day.

“But if you'd said to be before last Saturday that we could have four points from two games, would you take them?

“The answer would have been 'yes'.

"It's another point and it suits us more than it does them.

"We've set standards and we fell below them, but it's another point.

"From the off you could see that Hartlepool were taking risks and chances and when that happens you've got to be more clinical with the ball.

"You've got to retain possession than we did and we needed to break forward quicker than we did.

"The goal gave us a real buzz and what you need to do then is see out the next five or ten minutes and defend better than we did.

“We got caught out with a bit of sloppy defending and they punished us for it.

"But I want to give my players credit as well.

“While we're all disappointed with the performance, they've put in an awful lot of effort to drag themselves off the bottom of the table and that's another point gained as far as I'm concerned.

"I don't want my players to be too down and I don't want the supporters to be too down. We're scrapping for our lives and we'll take the point and move on."

The result lifted Tranmere into 21st position in the league, one place ahead of Carlisle - but only a single point separates them from Dagenham and Redbridge in the drop zone.

Hartlepool remained anchored at the foot of the table on 18 points.

Rovers are away to ninth-placed Exeter this Saturday.