What Hartlepool United manager John Askey will have learnt from Walsall draw

Hartlepool went behind in an enthralling contest thanks to Tom Knowles’ low strike before Isaac Hutchinson fired in an excellent second to double the Saddlers’ lead.

Dan Kemp scored from the penalty spot after Jack Hamilton was adjudged to have been fouled by Hayden White but the moment was short-lived as Matt Stevens restored the two-goal advantage.

Kemp was given another chance from the spot as the game moved into stoppage time before Connor Jennings would send the Suit Direct Stadium into raptures when heading in an unlikely equaliser in the 92nd minute as Askey was able to take a point from his first game.

But what will Askey have learnt from the draw?

Hartlepool United’s defensive woes

It has plagued Hartlepool all season long but Askey got a real taste of their defensive frailties against Walsall.

The Saddlers could, and probably should, have been in front within 10 seconds of the game.

Askey will barely have located his new seat in the dugout before watching Arsenal loan defender Taylor Foran gift an opportunity to Knowles who robbed the 19-year-old of possession to advance on goal.

Fortunately, Jakub Stolarczyk was on hand to make two big saves.

“Things like that are just ridiculous. You cannot have that,” Askey told The Mail after the game.

“But it’s no use me lambasting somebody for doing that. If they don’t know [what they’ve done], everybody else in the ground knew what had gone on.

“The first minute of a game you should be switched on and the last thing you do is try and dribble out of your own third of the pitch. Taylor knows that, and hopefully the rest of them do.”

But Walsall would continue on the front foot as that lack of composure in a number of clearances and, at times, the panic we have seen in recent weeks, began to creep in.

Walsall deserve credit for that too, of course. They pressured Hartlepool high up the pitch and looked a threat and deservedly took the lead through Knowles - albeit Askey will be keen to look back at the defending as both Knowles and Brandon Comley, who assisted the goal, were allowed too much time unchallenged.

Hutchinson’s strike just after half-time was excellent but, again, there was an element of ease as to how he was able to create space to strike at goal.

And when Hartlepool were probing, having gotten themselves back into the game from Kemp’s penalty, Askey’s task when it comes to organising the defence was laid to bare for Walsall’s third.

Pools offered up possession cheaply which allowed Stevens to run at Mouhamed Niang who then slipped in the area to allow a clear sight of goal.

Where there may have been some misfortune for Niang, it kind of summed up how Hartlepool have been defensively this season.

Only Forest Green Rovers (64) have conceded more goals than Hartlepool (62) across the top four divisions this season and Askey doesn't have long to try and rectify things.

Hartlepool United’s injury concerns

Some of those defensive woes may be attributed to Hartlepool’s injury concerns.

Askey was forced to play Brendan Kiernan as a right wing-back against the Saddlers with Jamie Sterry unavailable and Dan Dodds injured after previous manager Keith Curle had utilised David Ferguson in the right-back role in his final game in charge.

Ferguson is at his most potent when occupying a left wing-back position but has been ushered around the entire defensive line this season.

Askey finished the game with a central-defensive trio of Niang, Matt Dolan and Edon Pruti which shows how stretched Pools can be with one or two injuries.

Hartlepool United’s attacking impetus

There was plenty said about Hartlepool’s lack of shots on target against Newport County in what would prove to be Curle’s final game in charge.

“If you’re not getting in the box and having shots then you’re not going to be winning games so it’s something we need to address,” Askey told The Mail during his opening press conference.

So how did they fare against Walsall?

Marginally better you would say in that they had four efforts on target and one more in general, but those numbers will still likely concern Askey.

Pools had only 13 touches in the opposition penalty area against Newport with 15 here against Walsall, who had 20 in Hartlepool’s box, as per Who Scored.

In Umerah’s absence it was Jennings and Hamilton leading the line, the duo having a combined five touches in the penalty area - Kemp the most with four.

That will tell Askey there is plenty of work to do when it comes to being more of a threat going forward in terms of getting players in between the posts in the final third.

Hartlepool United’s reliance on star power

Despite their numbers remaining somewhat lower than their opposition, Hartlepool are finding the back of the net quite frequently.

Since the January transfer window closed, Pools have scored eight times in six games which takes them to 36 goals for the season - only bettered by Harrogate Town’s 37 in the bottom half of League Two at the time of writing.

That suggests they are capable of scoring, with much of that down to some of the star power they have within their ranks.

Enter Umerah and Kemp, in particular.

Although Umerah has gone off the boil slightly in front of goal in recent weeks, you wouldn’t bet against him finding his feet again in the not too distant future having scored 13 times already this season.

But in Kemp Hartlepool have a real difference maker.

Granted his two goals against Walsall were from 12-yards, but, nevertheless, he retained great composure, particularly with his second spot kick which can often be much harder - just ask Harry Kane.

Kemp has been a breath of fresh air since arriving at the club with five goals in six games.

The concern Askey will have is an over-reliance on those moments of magic because, you would suspect, they won’t continue to keep coming for Hartlepool and they will need to create more in games to keep up their recent record in front of goal.

Hartlepool United Never Say Die

Despite their precarious league position one thing you can’t fault at the moment is Hartlepool’s spirit.

The club lives by the ‘Never Say Die’ motto and we have certainly seen that in recent weeks.

Four times in the last five games Hartlepool have found themselves two goals behind. They have rescued a point in three of them.

Beyond that, in the six games since the end of the transfer window, Hartlepool have scored four times from the 88th minute onwards. That doesn’t necessarily represent a team who are giving up the fight.

Askey highlighted that spirit when asked by The Mail what his biggest takeaway from his first game in charge was.

He said: “The attitude of the players is very good. The spirit amongst them is good but we’ve got to defend a hell of a lot better than what we did.”