Another frustrating draw left Pools drifting further away from the play-offs places with a stalemate against Maidenhead United.

Chances were at a premium for large parts of the affair, until the final 15 minutes, when home boss Anthony Limbrick was left scratching his head at how his side were left with a single point.

There were some sights at goal in the first half for Pools, with Reyes Cleary and Mani Dieseruvwe forcing neat saves from Craig Ross, while Gary Madine fired an effort over the bar.

Jamie Miley, in for his first start, was replaced on the hour before Luke Charman also made way for Louis Stephenson.

From there, the game sprang into life.

Maidenhead hit the crossbar at close-range through Casey Petit with their biggest chance of the game.

At the other end, Cleary found substitute Sam Folarin, who forced a great save from a header before Dieseruvwe’s rebound was blocked.

Seconds later, there was a scramble in the box, ending with Cleary hitting a strike towards the bottom corner but Ross was level to it.

Folarin then had another chance, acrobatically striking Stephenson’s cross, but Ross made a comfortable save in the end.

Two big chances came in the eight minutes of added time for Pools.

First, Dieseruvwe’s strike at close-range was deflected out for a corner.

In the final chance of the game, a cross found a free Stephenson at the back post, but his shot was weak and fell straight into the path of a Maidenhead defender.

The visitors ran down the clock before the referee called time on proceedings, with the points being shared at the Prestige Group Stadium.

Pools: Smith, Hunter, Waterfall, Ferguson, Charman (Stephenson 74), Featherstone, Miley (Folarin 62), Cleary, Campbell (Sloggett 90+4), Madine, Dieseruvwe

Subs (not used): Foster, Sass-Davies, Robinson, Aungiers