Hartlepool United manager Darren Sarll frustrated with his side's first half performance after Pools taken to a replay by Brackley Town

The side Sarll picked, which included Mani Dieseruvwe, Joe Grey, Luke Charman and Anthony Mancini, must have appealed to supporters prior to kick-off but Pools produced another lacklustre performance, particularly in the first half.

Mani Dieseruvwe hit the post but the home side were outplayed by Brackley, who arrived in the North East unbeaten in their last six games, in the opening period.

Former Chesterfield man George Carline gave the visitors a deserved lead after 33 minutes but it could have been much worse for Pools, who were a shadow of the side that scored four second half goals against Sutton last week.

Welsh attacker Morgan Roberts did everything but score and the impressive forward could have had at least a couple of goals in the first half, forcing a sharp save from Brad Young before fluffing his lines from close range just before the break.

Danny Newton, who played for Sarll at Stevenage, bullied the Pools back line while the marauding runs of Scott Pollock caused all sorts of problems.

The hosts lacked energy, intent and quality and were almost architects of their own downfall on a number of occasions, with a couple of last ditch interventions from Dan Dodds sparing their blushes.

Pools were much-improved after the break and it felt like Adam Campbell's late equaliser had been coming despite some courageous, bodies on the line defending from the resolute visitors.

Campbell's first Pools goal kept his side's FA Cup hopes alive but there didn't feel like too much to celebrate at full time, With Sarll unimpressed with his team's first half showing.

"It was a really disappointing first half," he said.

"I thought we were manhandled at times.

"I will always give credit where it's due and I thought Brackley's strategy and plan was executed very well.

"We had about 10 or 15 minutes where we were dominant and Mani hit the post but I was relieved that we only had to come from one behind at half time.

"We dominated the game in the second half and had lots of chances but we've got to put them away and make sure that net bulges and we didn't do that enough."

For the second week in a row, Sarll's substitutes made a difference but the boss admitted he had mixed feelings about their impressive impact.

Roshaun Mathurin, Nicky Featherstone and Billy Sass-Davies replaced Luke Charman, Greg Sloggett and skipper Luke Waterfall, who endured a torrid afternoon, 10 minutes into the second half while Adam Campbell came on for David Ferguson 15 minutes from time as Pools went to three at the back.

All the changes made a difference as Pools dominated large parts of the second half, with Featherstone, who was unfortunate not to be starting after a strong display against Sutton, pulling the strings from midfield while Mathurin's turn set the hosts on the attack in the lead up to Campbell's late leveller.

It was the second game in succession that has seen a substitute come off the bench to score and while Sarll was pleased with their impact he admitted he was questioning his initial team selection.

He said: "It does then identify that maybe we started the wrong ones.

"There's a lot of recovery being done at the moment, and that shouldn't be the way.

"When a group of players find form, maybe another unit or another individual loses form, so we're always toying with that balance.

"We've got some options in certain positions, but we haven't got options in every position."

Sarll was pleased with goalscorer Adam Campbell, who came to the rescue with his first Pools goal late on.

It's been a frustrating first few months at Pools for the 29-year-old, who scored seven goals in 42 games as Crawley won the unlikeliest of promotions to League One last season.

Campbell was offered terms to remain in West Sussex but opted to drop down two divisions to return to the North East, where he was born and has spent much of his career.

However, Sarll has struggled to make the most of the new man's qualities, shifting him out wide and substituting him at half time on multiple occasions.

There's been a definite sense that the manager's direct style of play is not designed to get the best out of the diminutive Campbell but Sarll is hoping his long-awaited first goal will be a sign of things to come.

"He holds on tight, he does," he said.

"When I watched him in pre-season, he looked like he was going to score in every game he played.

"The games have been difficult for him, especially at home, because the opponent always takes away his superpower, which is space and time.

"He's technical execution and his competency is without contest, he's a lovely footballer.

"We've got to work with these players, we've got to try and improve them.

"It's a different place to play at, for sure, and they've got to be able to deal with not having things their own way all the time."

Pools now face a quick turnaround ahead of a long trip to Northamptonshire on Tuesday night for the replay, with Sarll calling for "determination and pride" as his side look to book their place in the first round proper.

He said: "It'll be very busy.

"On Monday we'll get them back out on the grass and we'll walk through, run through, play through whatever scenarios we think may rear their head again.

"We'll get on that bus, roll our sleeves up, tighten our boots a little bit tighter, tuck our shirts in and go and play with some real determination and pride."