Hartlepool United 0-0 Braintree Town: Pools battle to a point despite another reckless red card for skipper Luke Waterfall

Pools were looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the campaign after letting a two goal lead slip in an agonising afternoon at Woking on bank holiday Monday; Darren Sarll's side had been in cruise control after a quickfire brace from Joe Grey but had tough-tackling midfielder Jack Hunter sent off following two needless yellow cards and conceded three times in the final 25 minutes as Woking won the game thanks to substitute Harry Beautyman's 92nd minute strike.

The major positive for Pools was their performance in the first 20 minutes which saw Sarll's side play their most expansive football of the campaign so far, with goalscorer Grey and Mani Dieseruvwe causing all sorts of problems for the Cards back three.

Had Pools held onto their lead then they'd have risen to third in the National League table but their eventual defeat saw them drop four places to 10th, with Woking leapfrogging them in the process; football is, after all, a game of fine margins.

Pools came into the contest buoyed by the signing of goalkeeper Brad Young, who returned to the club on loan from Premier League side Leicester.

The talented 22-year-old came through the ranks at Pools and signed his first professional contract in 2019 before attracting the attention of the Foxes.

He's since established himself in the Leicester youth teams and featured for the under-21 side in the Football League Trophy last week and arrives at Pools looking to experience senior football for pretty much the first time; he had a brief loan spell at Blyth Spartans during his first stint at Pools and spent six months at Notts County after signing for Leicester but found his opportunities limited.

It remains to be seen what Young's arrival means for Joel Dixon, who had started all of the first five games this term, keeping three clean sheets, and Adam Smith, who arrived on a short-term contract a week before the season started.

Pools had long been rumoured to be keen on bringing a young goalkeeper from higher up the football pyramid to the Prestige Group Stadium, with Everton's Slovenian under-21 international Zan-Luk Leban rumoured to be at the top of their shopping list following a successful spell with National League North outfit Farsley Celtic last season.

However, with the Toffees said to be keen to integrate the Slovenian stopper into their first team set-up, Sarll and head of football Joe Monks were made to look elsewhere; the pair have prided themselves on being patient this summer and will feel that's been justified once again, with Young's return proving popular among supporters.

Pools were also hoping that experienced frontman Gary Madine might be able to play some part; the 34-year-old, who has won five career promotions and scored more than 100 goals, hadn't played a competitive game since March 2023.

Jack Hunter was missing through suspension although Irish midfielder Greg Sloggett had looked raring to go during two substitute appearances.

Skipper Luke Waterfall was available again after Sarll rested him for the trip to Surrey although defender Tom Parkes was facing a fitness test after being forced off with a shoulder injury in the first half of the defeat at Woking.

Braintree, meanwhile, arrived in the North East once place above the relegation zone but on a run of three matches unbeaten.

The Essex outfit were back in the fifth tier after being promoted from the National League South via the play-offs under Angelo Harrop and had adapted reasonably well to life at the level above; Kyrell Lisbie, son of former Charlton, Colchester and Leyton Orient frontman Kevin, had three goals in his last three games.

The Iron also had a number of familiar faces in their ranks, including goalkeeper Lucas Covolan, who scored a dramatic 96th minute equaliser against Pools for Torquay in the 2021 play-off final, Chay Cooper, who spent an ill-fated spell on loan in the North East last season, and experienced frontman Inih Effiong; none of the trio could have been expecting the warmest of welcomes.

For both sides, this game felt like the difference between a good, bad or indifferent beginning to the campaign; Pools were winless in their first two home matches but knew that a victory would propel them towards the promised-land of the top seven.

Part-timers Braintree had made the long trip up from the South East on the morning of the game but there were doubtless a few tired bodies and minds within the Pools ranks, too, with Sarll's side dealt a difficult hand over the August bank holiday weekend for the second year.

Pools had been walking the fine line between combativeness and recklessness with some difficulty since the start of the season; the fans are all for Darren Sarll's blood and thunder approach but have seen their side receive 19 yellow cards, two of which turned to red, in the opening five matches.

Looking to better harness that battling spirit, Sarll made two changes from the side that were narrowly beaten by Woking as skipper Luke Waterfall returned to the side and Greg Sloggett was handed his first start.

The suspended Jack Hunter missed out altogether, while Billy Sass-Davies dropped to the bench after the more experienced Tom Parkes was passed fit.

There was no place in the squad for new man Brad Young, who only arrived late on Friday night.

Braintree, likewise, made two changes as Tom Blackwell and John Akinde replaced Chay Cooper and James Vennings; Poolie pantomime villain Lucas Covolan was in-between the sticks for the Iron.

Pools made a bright start, with the lively Grey causing Braintree full-back Ryan Clampin plenty of problems, and went within a whisker of opening the scoring when Nathan Sheron's half-volley crashed into the upright; the midfielder's venomous strike had Iron goalkeeper beaten all ends up but the woodwork came to the visiting side's rescue.

Braintree, meanwhile, were posing a threat of their own through the powerful figures of Inih Effiong and John Akinde and Joel Dixon had to be out quickly off his line on a couple of occasions.

A medical incident in the crowd rather stifled the home side's momentum although Pools tested Covolan through Mani Dieseruvwe and then Nicky Featherstone.

Goalkeeper Joel Dixon was forced off midway through the first half after going down off the ball and was replaced by Adam Smith, who was on for his competitive debut.

However, things took a turn for the worse when skipper Luke Waterfall was sent off after lashing out at Braintree captain George Langston; it was Waterfall's second red card in three matches and the third time Pools had been reduced to 10 men in their last five games.

The sending off certainly seemed to rile the home crowd and Pools were, once again, looking to harness the backs to the wall mentality that had served them so well so far this season; Adam Campbell almost stole in after a smart slide rule pass from Dieseruvwe but fluffed his lines at the crucial moment as the hosts looked to take the game to the 11 men of Braintree.

Pools, who picked up just one red card in the entirety of last season, made it through to the break with the game still deadlocked and, in truth, Braintree did little to trouble substitute Adam Smith in the home side's goal.

Even so, there was a palpable sense of frustration on the terraces after Pools gave themselves another mountain to climb; Sarll's side were again down to 10 men after a rush of blood to the head from Waterfall.

Sarll made a change at the break in a bid to sure things up as the towering Billy Sass-Davies replaced Kieron Freeman; the 24-year-old filled the gap left by Luke Waterfall in the heart of defence, while Nathan Sheron, who had been filling in at centre-half, shifted to right-back.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the home side made a bright start to the second half and went close when David Ferguson's low cross was almost turned in by Mani Dieseruvwe at the near post following a superb driving run by the impressive Greg Sloggett.

Pools survived a nervous moment following a slip by Sass-Davies and Smith was forced into action when saving a speculative shot from Effiong but the home side, just as they did against Southend, were looking to take the game to Braintree in spite of Waterfall's red.

Joe Grey was continuing to cause problems, the tireless Mani Dieseruvwe was taking up promising positions and then excellent Greg Sloggett was making a difference with his driving runs from midfield.

It was a stop-start, stuttering second half but Pools were having the better of it and Adam Campbell's free-kick had Lucas Covolan scrambling while the long-awaited introduction of Madine, who came on with 12 minutes of normal time remaining, ramped up the atmosphere inside the Prestige Group Stadium.

Braintree never really pressed home their man advantage although a deep cross did graze Adam Smith’s crossbar two minutes into six added as Pools held on to salvage a point – that’s three successive draws at the Prestige Group Stadium and all of them, in one way or another, have required Darren Sarll’s side to demonstrate their battling qualities in abundance.

Pools: Dixon (sub, Smith, 33), Freeman (sub, Sass-Davies, 46), Waterfall (c), Parkes, Ferguson; Featherstone, Sheron, Sloggett; Grey (Stephenson, 90+2), Dieseruvwe (sub, Madine, 79), Campbell (sub, Mancini, 79).

Braintree: Covolan; Clampin (sub, Fyfield, 45+5), Langston (c), Annesley, Blackwell (sub, Cooper, 64), Marshall-Miranda (sub, Lambe, 78), Effiong (sub, Powell, 64), Akinde, Lisbie, Robinson (sub, Vennings, 46), Grimwood.

Att: 3,516 (18 away).