Hartlepool United were denied three points on the road by a late Wealdstone equaliser at Grosvenor Vale as the first away game of 2025 ended 1-1.
Injury-hit Pools had led on 21 minutes through Gary Madine’s sixth goal of the season and deserved their first-half lead.
But Wealdstone upped their game in the second half and equalised five minutes from time courtesy of Enzio Boldewijn’s low strike.
There was bad news on the injury front before the kick-off, with Pools travelling top West London without two of their in-form men, Joe Grey and Anthony Mancini, because of injury.
Luke Charman returned on the right with Kazenga LuaLua starting on the left.
The first Pools player to shine was Adam Smith, with the shot-stopper saving well down low to his right in the sixth minute from Sam Ashford’s left footer which looked on course for the bottom corner.
It took until the 16th minute for Pools to have their first attempt at goal when Madine shot wide from a Mani Dieseruvwe chest down.
But Lennie Lawrence’s side were ahead on 21 minutes thanks to a quality first touch and finish by Madine from David Ferguson’s cross from the left.
Ferguson was heavily involved at both ends.
There was a very promising opening on the break 23 minutes but Ferguson’s cross was too strong.
The left-back then hit the outside of the post after a neat Pools attack down the left, before using his positional sense and experience at the other end to clear a dangerous home cross from the left.
Pools should have doubled their lead in the final minute of the first half when Madine put one, seemingly, on a plate for Dieseruvwe but the striker could not get his shot off.
Wealdstone were cursing the brilliance of Smith five minutes into the second half.
First there had been a good block by Tom Parkes as the Stones threatened for the first time, and from the resulting corner a stunning point-blank save by Smith thwarted half-time sub Adrian Mariappa.
The Stones threatened again and it needed a Dan Dodds clearance off line to divert a Kallum Cesay shot wide.
Pools did have a good spell around the hour and Dieseruvwe was unlucky to see his header from Ferguson’s corner get blocked, unintentionally, by forward comrade Madine.
Wealdstone had a goal chalked off for offside in the 64th minute.
The lively Micah Obiero did the hard work down the left and Ashford applied the finish, but the linesman’s flag silenced the home celebrations.
Pools really came under the cosh and it required some tremendous bodies-on-the-line defending, while Smith made a couple of excellent saves.
The sky blues were able to take some sting out of the Wealdstone pressure and perhaps should have done better with a 79th-minute attack, but Charman’s low shot was saved by Steward.
Pools had done well to fight off all the home pressure, but they were finally undone in the 86th minute by Enzio Boldewijn’s low left shot from distance.
There was a chance for Pools to regain the lead almost immediately as sub Greg Sloggett sent Dieseruvwe through but the striker found himself crowded out.
Pools: Smith, Dodds, Waterfall, Parkes, Ferguson, Charman, Sheron, Featherstone, LuaLua (Hunter 59), Madine (Sloggett 70), Dieseruvwe
Subs (not used): Young, Darcy, Bondswell, Sass-Davies, Foreman