Forest Green Rovers were defeated 4-2 by Hartlepool United at The New Lawn.
A penalty on the brink of half-time for the visitors gave them the lead; Jordan Hugill placed the spot kick in the bottom right corner, sending Ethan Ross the wrong way.
Just minutes into the second half, a corner caused issues in the box for Rovers, and the ball fell to Nathan Sheron, whose header put the Monkey Hangers 2-0 up.
More pain to follow for FGR when a dipping strike from Hugill just inside the box doubled his tally and made it three.
FGR fought back, grabbing two goals in quick succession, the first being a clever worked transition around the Hartlepool box which saw Kelvin Abrefa put a ball on a plate for Omari Patrick to finish from close range.
Abrefa was also at the forefront of the second goal, chopped down in the box for a penalty; McAllister calmly sent Max Thomson the wrong way to make it 3-2.
It was Sheron again for the decider; a long-range strike into the top left corner gave the Pool a fourth and ended any hopes for a comeback for Forest Green.
First-Half:
Rovers started the brighter; Etaluku and McAllister combined outside the box to create a few chances; however, none were taken.
Despite the good start, it wasn't long before Hartlepool had their first chance of the game. Forward Jack Earing dinked a ball over Ross, which seemed destined to roll in, but Freddie Sass was there to clear the ball away.
Although the Monkey Hangers had the better of the chances early on, debutant Tom McIntyre was unlucky not to score from a McAllister corner as his header was sent just narrowly wide.
The moment left the south stand in a moment of ecstasy, but ultimately first blood wasn't drawn.
The home side carried this momentum for the next 15 minutes until a late run from fullback Kelvin Abrefa gave Rovers a golden opportunity; the youngster smashed the ball from inside the box, but Thomson sprang into action to keep the score level.
At the death of the first-half, striker Jordan Hugill softly went down in the box following a corner and won the visitors a penalty.
The former Premier League man showed no signs of nerves as he coolly placed the penalty into the bottom right corner, sending Ross the wrong way and putting his side ahead at the break.
Rovers will have felt hard done by to have been losing at the break, but the first-half performance was one to build on.
Half-time Forest Green Rovers 0-1 Hartlepool United
Second half:
Hartlepool took no time to get back into action in the second half; a swift transition gave forward Luke Charman a chance from outside the box, but his shot was tipped over the bar for a corner by the home keeper.
The resulting set piece caused trouble for Forest Green; Sheron found himself on the end of a rebound inside the penalty area, and with Ross out of position, his header floated in to double the pool’s lead.
Hartlepool maintained their energy in the early stages of the second half, carrying the ball into the FGR half with intent.
Hugill found himself in a threatening position just inside the box and struck the ball with confidence; the shot looped over Ross and found the back of the net, making it a third for the Monkey Hangers.
Rovers, determined not to let the goals hinder them, responded well; a well-worked move saw Abrefa receive the ball out wide and accurately put the ball into the 18-yard box for Omari Patrick to calmly finish and make it 3-1.
The fight continued as Abrefa drove into the box and was taken down for a spot kick. Rovers captain McAllister converted the second penalty of the night, striking the ball into the bottom-left corner, sending the Hartlepool shot-stopper the wrong way.
Forest Green battled on as Jayden Clarke and McAllister took shots from distance to try and complete the comeback; however, it was Hartlepool who scored next to kill the game off.
Substitute Jack Nolan set up Sheron, who hit a wonder-strike outside the area, just out of reach of Ross to extinguish any hopes of a comeback at GL6.
A tough result to take, Rovers gave everything to turn the game around, but the comeback was just out of reach.
FGR shift their focus to the FA Cup as we travel to Chesham United next Saturday.
Full-Time: Forest Green Rovers 2-4 Hartlepool United
Line-ups:
Forest Green Rovers: Ross, Sass (Kuemo), Ajayi, McIntyre, Abrefa, Campbell (Haughton), Clarke, Etaluku, Kelly (Patrick), McAllister, Marquez (Mellor)
Hartlepool United: Thomson, Eccleston, Sheron, McNally, Hunter, Earing (Nolan), Deeming, Ilunga, Popov (Clark), Charman (Thornton), Hugill (Harris)
Attendance: 1,755 (76 Away)
