Pools Youth Team were beaten 3-2 in the Youth Alliance Cup Regional Final at Victoria Park after a hotly-contested clash with Hull City.

Micky Barron's men were twice in the lead and looked set to make it through to the overall Final but a spirited fightback by the visitors was enough to see them through.

Pools were slow to get going and had Callum Proudlock to thank for a couple of fine saves in the first half - one from Ryan Kendall and then from Jamie Devitt.

However, after seeing out some pressure it was Pools who went ahead when Craig Gott's deflected shot from the edge of the area squeezed past Ben Hallam in the Hull goal.

City looked shell-shocked but recovered their composure to restore parity right on the stroke of half time when Devitt finally found the beating of Proudlock with a neat lobbed finish.

The second half began in scrappy fashion with neither side keeping the ball particularly well, though Pools did creep in to the ascendancy around the hour mark when Ruddy's pinpoint cross was headed on goal by Matty Tymon but Hallam did well to block.

Gott tried his luck with a free-kick which curled just the wrong side of the post before Tymon did put Pools back in front, bundling home from close range after another dangerous Ruddy delivery from the right.

Devitt responded with an effort that took a deflection and grazed the far post but the City winger was not to be denied and burst through again moments later to fire the Tigers level.

Kendall spurned some good opportunities to put City in front for the first time and it was left to Devitt to show him how it was done, completing his hat-trick on 87 minutes to break Pools' hearts.

In the end perhaps the volume of chances meant that Hull deserved their win, but Pools youngsters can be proud of their efforts up against a more experienced and older side.

Full Time: Pools 2 Hull City 3

Pools: Proudlock, Trevena, Purvis, Gott, Marron, Tait, Ruddy, Charlton (Liddle 77), Tymon, Ellison (Wakefield 89), Scott.
Subs not used: Forbes, McRoberts, Quantrill.

Hull City: Hallam, Hamilton, Lamplough, Simpson (Cullen), Gardner, Cooper, Devitt, Leonard (Sidhu), Kendall, Charney, Hanley (Raymond).
Subs not used: Ward, Wright.