Hartlepool United goalkeeper Adam Smith hails defensive effort after keeping clean sheet on competitive debut against Braintree

It was a largely frustrating afternoon for Pools, who had skipper Luke Waterfall sent off for the second time in three matches and had to settle for a point for the third home game in a row.

Even after going down to 10 men when Waterfall lashed out at Iron captain George Langston midway through the first half, Pools managed to dominate the game and went close to finding a winner through the likes of Nathan Sheron, Adam Campbell and Nicky Featherstone.

While Sarll felt his side had let two points slip there were some positives to take from the game, not least another resolute rearguard action and a fourth clean sheet of the campaign - Pools managed just five shutouts in the entirety of last season.

Smith has been playing second fiddle to Joel Dixon so far this season and might have expected to slide even further down the pecking order following the arrival of Brad Young, who returns to Pools on a season-long loan from Leicester.

However, the 30-year-old found himself unexpectedly thrown into the action on Saturday after Joel Dixon was forced off with what looked like a knee injury after 32 minutes; Dixon has hit the deck a number of times this term, although there has been some suggestion that previous problems have been feigned to allow Sarll to make tactical adjustments while he receives treatment.

It was a fairly quiet competitive debut for Smith, although Langston's looping cross glanced off his crossbar in added time as the visitors pushed for a late winner.

That was one of only a handful of half-chances Braintree managed to fashion despite their man advantage, meaning Smith was able to enjoy a comfortable afternoon as he marked his Pools bow with a clean sheet.

"It's good to be out there, it's just a shame it happened how it did," he said.

"I wish Joel all the best and hopefully he recovers quickly.

"You've always got to be ready, whether it's working hard in training or just being ready on the bench, and I was raring to go.

"It's a nice feeling and the lads defended brilliantly - it's just a shame we didn't manage to get the win."