"We were much better in the second half," said Pearson. "We gave Hartlepool too much time and space in the first half and, to be fair to them, they played well.
"But we got our tempo and our shape right in the second half and once we scored, we played very well. Getting the first goal was important.
"The players who came in did very well and in the end I'm just glad we are through to the second round."