Hartlepool United manager Darren Sarll left frustrated as 10-man Pools held to a goalless draw by Braintree

Pools had to play the majority of the game with 10 men after skipper Luke Waterfall was sent off for lashing out at Braintree captain George Langston following a corner; it was Waterfall's second red card in three matches and the third time Pools have been reduced to 10 in their last five games.

Despite their numerical advantage, Braintree struggled to make too many attacking inroads as Pools defended resolutely and remained well-organised throughout.

In truth, it was the home side who looked more like scoring; Nathan Sheron hit the upright, albeit when the game was still 11v11, but even after Waterfall was given his marching orders Pools had chances, with Adam Campbell's free-kick forcing a fine save from pantomime villain Lucas Covolan, who fans will remember from when he scored in the 96th minute of the 2021 play-off final and saved two Pools penalties.

Braintree grazed the crossbar with a deep cross in the second minute of six added but Pools finished with a flurry and the impressive Nicky Featherstone almost won the game right at the death.

It was another gallant rearguard action from Pools but it was hard not to feel frustrated after ill-discipline cost them again; even with 10-men, Sarll felt his side deserved three points but there's no doubt the home side made things hard for themselves.

"I thought we dominated, with 11 or 10 - we should be winning those games," he said.

"To me, it's two points dropped in the technical, tactical aspect.

"The work rate was incredible. We're not going to get a better group of guys here.

"It's a good point from the perspective of robustness, perseverance, resilience, organisation and fitness, but to me we should be winning those games.

"I'm starting to get a little bit fed up with not getting what I think the players have earned, and that's probably my biggest frustration."

Sarll was fairly tight-lipped regarding Waterfall's red card, his second in successive home matches.

Pools have to find the delicate balance between recklessness and combativeness; last season, they received just one red card but were often criticised for being too easy to play against.

This term, the narrative has rather turned on its head and Pools will need to tread much more carefully if they're to compete towards the top end of the table - Sarll's side have finished half of their matches without the full complement.

It looked to be a moment of madness from the experienced Waterfall, who appeared to lash out at George Langston off the ball; as ever, these kinds of incidents are somewhat subjective and Sarll was eager to let the dust settle before passing his own judgement.

He said: "I didn't see Luke, I saw the player drop.

"I haven't seen the replay. I could have seen it, but I wanted to wait and deal with it in the cold light of day.

"If there's a straight red, then I have to make sure I look at it closely.

"Also, he's my captain, he's my guy, we've got to make sure that we do the right thing.

"I'll look at it over the weekend, come back into work and we'll discuss it with the guys."

Other than Waterfall's red card, Saturday's stalemate was a tale of three goalkeepers and a goalscorer, although experienced frontman Gary Madine struggled to make much of an impact after his long-awaited introduction.

Goalkeeper Joel Dixon suffered an injury setback and was forced off midway through the first half; he was replaced by experienced stopper Adam Smith, who was making his competitive debut.

The injury, which looked like being to his knee, will come as a bitter blow for Dixon, who has started the season so well, keeping three clean sheets, but looks to have a fight on his hands if he's to retain his status as Sarll's number one after talented 22-year-old Brad Young returned to his hometown club, signing on a season-long loan from Leicester.

Sarll's goalkeeping options have been the subject of relentless speculation throughout the summer but the Pools boss now appears spoilt for choice in-between the sticks

"I think (with Dixon) there's been a nick there," he said.

"Some of the kicking's been quite demanding and there's maybe some historical elements to it.

"He's sore but we won't know until Monday when the inflammation starts to go down.

"The reception Joel received when he came off was really fantastic and that was a reflection of his performances to date and what he's given us.

"Brad (Young) is a Hartlepool boy, a North East boy, he's coming home and I like that.

"We've done some really astute business with bringing players back to the North East, maybe that's why they give so much.

"There's always something about one of your own and he's a very good goalkeeper, let's make no bones about that."

At the other end of the pitch, it was a slightly underwhelming debut for Gary Madine, who came on as a second half substitute but looked a little off the pace in the final quarter of the contest.

The 34-year-old arrives with an impressive reputation having won five career promotions and scored more than 100 goals but has not been in competitive action for 16 months and Sarll is confident there will be a lot more to come as the frontman gets closer to full fitness.

He said: "I've said this to Gary, he needs to be kinder to himself.

"At the moment, we're ensuring that his body is structurally and functionally strong enough for the demands of playing competitive games.

"We're ages away from seeing the best version of him and I'm alright with that, I know how much quality he has and what he will bring."