Maidenhead United 1-1 Hartlepool United: Pools begin life after Darren Sarll with a point on the road

The Magpies dominated the first half and went ahead through Sam Barratt's spot-kick but Pools fought back and were much-improved after Lennie Lawrence's changes, with substitute Adam Campbell salvaging a point with his second goal of the season.

Caretaker manager Lawrence was taking interim charge for the second time just two months shy of his 77th birthday.

Lawrence, one of a select few managers to have overseen more than 1,000 games throughout his long and distinguished career, made three changes from the XI the departing Darren Sarll named ahead of Tuesday night's humbling FA Cup exit.

Sarll's tumultuous tenure lasted just 15 matches but was one of the most divisive and discontented periods in the club's recent history.

Lawrence, looking to breathe new life into struggling Pools, who had won just one of their last seven games, welcomed captain Luke Waterfall, Greg Sloggett and Roshaun Mathurin, one of the few bright spots in midweek, back into the side.

Billy Sass-Davies, Anthony Mancini, who was forced off with an injury in Northamptonshire, and Luke Charman all dropped to the bench. Charlton loanee Nathan Asiimwe, who was ineligible for the two FA Cup clashes against Brackley, was available again and started among the substitutes.

Lawrence was pitting his wits against Magpies boss Alan Devonshire, who is 68 and has been at the helm of Maidenhead for more than two decades over two long spells. York Road, the oldest continually used football ground in the world, was perhaps a fitting venue for this battle between two veterans.

Maidenhead came into the game in good form having won their last three National League games and progressed through an FA Cup replay against National League South side Taunton Town on Tuesday night.

The Magpies pocketed a £4 million windfall earlier this summer when former defender Max Kilman signed for West Ham from Wolves in July - the Berkshire side sold Kilman for £40,000 in 2018 and included a 10 per cent sell-on clause in the deal.

Devonshire, who won the FA Cup with the Hammers in 1980, made two changes from Maidenhead's midweek cup triumph as Sam Barratt, who ran Pools ragged last season, and Nathan Ferguson returned to the side.

The visitors made a promising start and looked to be getting the ball down while Pools were piling more bodies forward in support of Mani Dieseruve and their renewed attacking intent almost paid off when Tom Parkes hit the post.

Nathan Sheron's initial effort through a host of Maidenhead bodies was deflected wide for a corner, the home side failed to deal with the resulting ball into the box and Parkes struck the woodwork from close range before Mani Dieseruvwe was unable to sort his feet out with the rebound and the ball trickled agonisingly wide.

Maidenhead responded well and Will de Havilland headed wide from Sam Barratt's deep cross before Brad Young turned Reece Smith's low drive wide of the post as the hosts rallied and started to turn the screw.

Nathan Sheron in particular was causing a few problems with his late runs and the midfielder forced a regulation save from Maidenhead skipper Craig Ross after latching onto Joe Grey's flick-on following an incisive forward ball by Tom Parkes.

David Ferguson, who has had his fair share of critics in recent weeks, came to his side's rescue after 20 minutes when he acrobatically cleared Sam Barratt's goalbound effort off the line. Pools, who were showing limited signs of improvement, were struggling to deal with Maidenhead's threat from wide areas as Barratt and Smith, who caused them problems last season, threatened to unlock the defence.

Pools began to falter and were punished after 32 minutes when Luke Waterfall, who was contentiously restored to the side in place of the impressive Billy-Sass-Davies, hacked Will de Havilland down in the box. The impressive Sam Barratt made no mistake from the penalty spot, drilling his effort straight down the middle to beat Young, who dived to his left, to make it 1-0 to the home side. The struggling Pools skipper might have felt himself a little unfortunate, but he took a risk by taking a touch inside the area and failed to spot de Havilland and swiped the Magpies man as he attempted to clear.

While Lennie Lawrence might well be a vastly experienced manager, he is not a miracle worker and Pools looked tepid, toothless and low on confidence for the remainder of the first half as the hosts, who looked more purposeful, organised and threatening, had the better of the final quarter-on-an-hour before referee Gareth Rhodes blew for half time.

The lively Reece Smith had given Dan Dodds a torrid time in the first half and picked up where he left off after the break, turning the Pools defender inside out before combining with Nathan Ferguson, who picked out James Golding with a deft ball over the top but the marauding Magpies man's tame effort was comfortable for Young.

The visiting team's shape, which saw three similar central-midfielders struggle to establish a link to the front line, simply wasn't working and the hosts continued to dominate the game as Shawn McCoulsky drilled a low effort wide of Brad Young's far post after Greg Sloggett had committed himself but failed to win the ball on the halfway line.

Pools made two changes as Adam Campbell and Luke Charman replaced Sloggett and Roshaun Mathurin, who both struggled, but Maidenhead continued to hunt for a second, with McCoulsky again going close after showing Luke Waterfall a clean pair of heels.

Lawrence didn't wait too long before making a third substitution, introducing Anthony Mancini just after the hour, and the Frenchman almost made an instant impact when he forced a fingertip save from Ross after combining well with Campbell.

The substitutes appeared to have the bit between their teeth and Campbell drew Pools level after 67 minutes when his looping effort caught Craig Ross out and sailed into the top corner to make it 1-1.

Pools were beginning to take control of the contest and almost scored a scintillating team goal when Tom Parkes, Mani Dieseruvwe and Adam Campbell all combined before Anthony Mancini fired over the bar from distance. For a side full of capable footballers, Pools have not played nearly enough good football this season but the likes of Mancini and Campbell were making a difference as the visitors began to get the ball down and cause Maidenhead problems.

Both sides huffed and puffed towards the final stages but neither team managed to fashion a clear-cut chance as Pools, who were much-improved after Lennie Lawrence's second half changes, began life after Darren Sarll with a spirited point on the road.

Pools: Young; Dodds, Waterfall (c), Parkes, Ferguson; Sheron, Featherstone, Sloggett (sub, Campbell, 55); Grey (sub, Mancini, 62), Dieseruvwe, Mathurin (sub, Charman, 55).

Maidenhead: Ross (c); De Havilland, Lokko, Golding (sub, Ajose, 86); Latty-Fairweather, Ferguson, Pettit, Smith, Welch-Hayes, Barratt; McCoulsky.

Att: 1,345.