The midfielder saw his header from a corner brilliantly parried by Rovers keeper Steve Phillips, but tracked the falling ball to force it across the line.
Rovers had had the visitors on the back foot for long spells in the first half but one of Danny Wilson's hair-dryer blasts at half time changed all that.
Pool took over the game and a stoppage-time strike by Darryl Duffy underlined how much they were on top.
Both sides had started without their eight-goal top scorers, Pool's Jon Daly is injured while Richard Walker found himself on Rovers bench with Stuart Nicholson, on-loan from West Brom, taking his place.
Walker took over in a double change midway through the second half but by then there was no way back in for his side.
It had never been easy for Nicholson with the eagle-eyed Michael Nelson running Pool's defence and winning everything in the air.
The youngster's one chance came when Stuart Campbell went in on the right but his low cross was hurried over the top by Nicholson.
But he so nearly turned the tables on the centre-back when Nelson, lured from his set place, ankle-tapped him. There was no card and Rovers had to settle for a short corner and a Campbell cross headed on to the top of the net by Byron Anthony.
Rovers had deserved more from an earlier raid sparked by Sammy Igoe. His ball, played across the goal, was knocked back in by Rickie Lambert but Craig Disley's header was saved one-handed by the keeper.
With no Daly and no Eifion Williams either Pool's attack lacked an edge and became even blunter after Duffy's aggressive start had brought him a 17th-minute card for a second untidy challenge.
They got in just one chance in the first half when a mistake by Steve Elliott let in Tony Sweeney.
Moved up from the midfield as a makeshift attacker Sweeney sniffed the goal as Phillips had raced off his line to cover up for his centre-back.
Sweeney chased hard enough but Chris Carruthers underlined a solid game beating him to the ball and hooking to safety.