Saturday 24 November 2012 19:35, UK
Dean Smith praised Walsall's performance despite seeing their winless run extended to 14 games with a 1-1 home draw to Hartlepool.
The Pools grabbed the lead against the run of play when a poor back-pass from Ashley Hemmings put home goalkeeper Aaron McCarey in trouble and he tripped Steve Howard, Evan Horwood drilling home the resulting penalty after 27 minutes. For all their pressure Walsall could not find a way through the visitors' defence until four minutes into the second half when Will Grigg's drive was blocked following a corner and defender Dean Holden struck home the rebound. "I thought we were the better team all through and I've said that to the players," Smith said. "We have to keep believing and playing that way. We have had an unbelievable amount of shots - something like 30 - but it was just not to be. "I am concerned about not winning games but we have to keep doing the right things and it will come good." It is a third successive draw for the Saddlers after sharing the points at Crawley and Tranmere, and Smith added: "We have played some terrific stuff in the three draws. All that's been missing is a win. We have got good footballers here with young players coming through the system and we have adopted a style which suits us."