Pools played out a 0-0 draw with Brentford on a miserable evening at The Vic.

Chris Turner's men enjoyed the majority of possession but once again it was that final killer touch that was missing and a hard working Brentford outfit left Hartlepool with a point.

The game was played out in awful conditions this evening with wind and rain swirling round The Vic throughout.

In a lively opening to the game, there were chances at both ends inside the first five minutes.

A Brentford freekick twenty yards out on goal was taken by Sam Wood who drove low into the area which Scott Flinders had to get down quickly to palm away.

At the other end of the field, the influential Andy Monkhouse pushed the ball on for Denis Behan who in turn picked out strike partner Adam Boyd. Unfortunately despite a good first touch Boyd's strike found the arms of Nikki Bull in the Brentford goal.

As both teams enjoyed their fair share of possession in a busy opening twenty minutes, Sam Saunders fired in low from the edge of the area and, though his shot deflected, Flinders parried the effort before Sam Collins cleared.

For Pools, Antony Sweeney fired over the bar from close range before he tried to execute an overhead kick inside the box but his second effort went the same way as his first.

A Sam Saunders freekick found Carl Cort at the far post but his bouncing header was again held by Flinders.

Denis Behan flashed a fierce effort across the face of goal from the right which flew past Bull before scraping wide of the far post.

As the half moved on, chances lessened for both teams - perhaps an effect of the poor weather conditions - but it was Pools who held the majority of the possession.

One good move saw Sweeney move in well from a central position to pick out Behan with a ball across the face of goal, but Bull blocked the striker's effort and then the linesman's flag interrupted to deny Monkhouse.

Sam Collins was again strong at the back for Pools and popped up at the right time to deny a Ryan Dickson effort on goal.

And so neither team could find that breakthrough in the first half and the two sides left the field at half time with everything still to play for.

There was a great chance for Behan to open the scoring just six minutes into the second half; Sam Collins kicked clear out of defence and the Irish striker did well to snatch possession to run in on goal and, with three defenders chasing him, Behan managed to get a left-footed shot away but the ball rose over the bar.

Pools won a corner mid-way inside the second half and Gary Liddle did well to win the header but the defender saw his effort held by Bull in a half which saw few real chances at either end.

And as the game progressed, the frustration levels within The Vic became increasingly audible.

Turner's men again dominated possession in this second half but found clear cut chances hard to come by and The Director of Sport tried to change things round with 16 minutes remaining when he introduced Colin Larkin and Armann Bjornsson into the game at the expense of Boyd and Behan.

There we were some nervy moments for Pools at the back as Brentford continued to plug away; a dangerous ball was whipped in from the left which was deflected narrowly wide by Hartley and Hartley again did well to intercept a ball into the box from Wood.

A Ritchie Humphreys freekick caused problems in the box as first Monkhouse poked at goal before Larkin saw his first effort blocked and his second put out for a corner.

A Peter Hartley drive on goal from distance in injury time was just touched on by sub Larkin who was lively, but the ball went just wide of target.

And so once again, Pools failed to find that crucial breakthrough in the game and this time the opposition left The Vic with a share of the spoils.

A disappointing result for Turner's men who were focussed on picking up a victory this evening but the players will regroup and turn their attentions to the game at Swindon Town next Saturday.

Att: 3105 (146 Brentford)

Pools: Flinders, Austin, Collins, Liddle Hartley, Brown, Humphreys, Sweeney, Monkhouse, Behan (Larkin 74) , Boyd (Bjornsson74)
Subs Not Used: Cook, McSweeney, Jones, Haslam, Fredriksen

Brentford: Bull, O'Connor, Dickson, Bean, Phillips (Osborne 78), Bennett, Saunders, Cort, MacDonald, Foster, Wood (Weston 85)
Subs Not Used: Kabba, Taylor, Ferrell, Blake, Moore