Walsall 0 Hartlepool 0 - analysis

Another draw and another point – but at least Walsall are finally making theirs.

The significance of Saturday's stalemate with Hartlepool may end up being lost in the ether but, while frustrating, the 16th draw of the season could be the most important.

With it the Saddlers made it six games unbeaten and posted their longest unbeaten League One run for three years.

It not only proves how woefully inconsistent the team, in a number of guises, havebeen for years but also the strides made over the past six weeks.

Walsall needed to find form, any form, to keep their heads above water and renew the belief about escaping the drop.

And now they have it must be maintained. The Saddlers cannot afford to go into the final few games – including clashes with promotion-chasing Charlton, Huddersfield and MK Dons – struggling for points.

They need to bank them now – which is why results like Saturday's go a long way to survival. Walsall are not going to draw their way out of trouble, wins are still paramount for a team so precariously placed, but every clean sheet or point is vital. It widened the gap to Exeter, and the last relegation slot, to three points – with a game in hand.

Had that been offered at the turn of the year it would have been taken and now the Saddlers can continue their recent trend at Yeovil on Saturday. That is not to say it wasn't a missed chance, though. Mat Sadler summed it up perfectly when he insisted Hartlepool were there for the taking.

Previously a point against Pool – with the fifth best away record in the division – would have been celebrated. But another brave display was greeted with frustration following Walsall's second-half dominance.

Their efforts warranted more and, had Andy Butler's 72nd-minute header been a yard lower, they would have recorded back-to-back wins.

They had to settle for a point but the good thing is the Saddlers begrudged settling. There is enough belief and momentum in the side to put some serious daylight between themselves and the bottom four.

After the 3-2 win over Sheffield United four points from two home games isn't a bad haul – 12 points from the last 18 makes fine reading. That has, partly, come from four clean sheets from their last six games with Oliver Lancashire, Butler and now Manny Smith excelling.

Smith replaced Lancashire, suffering from blurred vision, mid-way through Saturday's first-half to end his own turbulent spell.

The defender had some soul-searching to do after his ill-advised Twitter comments last month saw him cop a £1,200 FA fine but he has come back stronger. Smith vented a month's worth of frustration on Pools to return to form and prove his own personal point. He has looked on as Lancashire and Butler formed the impressive backbone of the Saddlers' revival.

It wouldn't have been easy but he ensured Walsall claimed another shut-out – although it was against a limited Hartlepool team, who lost skipper Sam Collins to a calf injury in the warm-up.

Lee Beevers and Alex Nicholls replaced the injured Richard Taundry and Jamie Paterson for the Saddlers.

It took until the 17th minute for a chance and when it came George Bowerman dragged his effort a yard wide. And following that, the teams continued a game of pass the parcel – the midfield chief culprits.

The ponderous nature of the half ended with its best chance when the unmarked Bowerman nodded over Beevers' cross.

But the busy striker unsettled Pool and Neil Collins escaped with just a yellow from referee Stuart Attwell after he bodychecked Bowerman when he burst through.

It at least woke the game from its slumber and, after Jon Whitney and Hartlepool manager Neale Cooper briefly squared up on the touchline, Butler headed over when Scott Flinders missed Kevan Hurst's corner.

Will Grigg fired at Flinders and Sam Mantom was the victim of an unfortunate bobble when he look to connect with Grigg's cross.

It summed up the Saddlers' frustrations but a draw was another step to survival.

By Nick Mashiter