Yeovil Town left the north east with a point, but also a lingering sense of injustice.

Penalties for the Glovers are about as rare as tropical afternoons in Hartlepool, but the visitors felt they should have had a spotkick just before half-time.

Left winger Paul Warne went down under an aggressive challenge from right-back Tony Sweeney, but referee Kevin Friend gave a corner and not a penalty.

"The ref said he got a little bit of the ball but he got a lot of my ankle, I know that," said a limping Warne afterwards.

Skipper Terry Skiverton said: "It was very close with the Paul Warne incident – we could have got a penalty and I think if we had been at home we would have expected that."

In front of Hartlepool's main terrace the referee went for the easier decision, but it was far from the only close call the home side had to negotiate.

However, the failure to score means now only Hereford have netted fewer times in League One this season.

The pairing of on-loan strikers Gifton Noel-Williams and Luke Rodgers needs time to blossom – Saturday was their first start together.

Rodgers' goal record at Port Vale, Crewe and Shrewsbury suggests he can fire the Glovers to safety – if he stays for long enough.

"Luke has been a really good addition to the squad," added Skiverton.

"He put them on the back foot and there were a few chances where he had about four or five shots at goal.

"We are getting a bit closer and I don't think we are far away from getting that goal. Gifton did well, too. He won quite a lot in the air and their centre halves are really good in the air.

"We got him into some dangerous positions, the keeper made some good saves and there were a few shots off target.

"It wasn't a case of sticking for the draw, because it was end to end, quite an exciting game."

In the first half, as well as two Rodgers efforts, Aidan Downes shot wide from long range before Lee Peltier latched onto a crossfield pass from Noel-Williams to strike a 25-yarder that smacked back off the crossbar.

Manager Russell Slade said: "We have encouraged him to try to be positive and the keeper was beaten in all fairness. He was a little bit unfortunate."

Yeovil's usually solid defence kept Hartlepool's first-half chances to a minimum.

Keeper Josh Wagenaar twice dealt with efforts from Michael Nelson before Danny Wilson's side upped their game after the break.

The Canadian held free-kicks from Kevin Kyle and Matty Robson as well as a Gary Liddle effort from open play.

Wilson riled most of the home support when he substituted striker Joel Porter – comfortably the best player on the pitch – after 57 minutes.

His replacement, David Foley, was much less effective and Yeovil held out comfortably enough and could even have won it had substitute Aaron Brown got a firmer header to a Peltier free-kick.

"I was mad with myself," said the centre half. "I just lost the sight of it over the defender and when I saw it again I didn't have much time to re-adjust and put power on it."

Yeovil remain in the relegation zone but just three points separate them from Bristol Rovers – a team whose supporters claim are play-off material – in 15th place.

"I think it will be a good achievement this year if we stay in this division and get up towards halfway," said Skiverton.

"We are going to need back-to-back results to get there, but after the results this weekend there are a few more teams that have been sucked in.

"It goes up to halfway now, so it will be really tight.

"Last year the teams who got docked points made it a little bit easier but now there are a lot more teams fighting for survival and trying to get up that league.

"It is going to be exciting watching us doing it against the odds."

Slade and Skiverton were grateful for the "magnificent" support from the 83 Yeovil fans who made the 650-mile round trip from south Somerset.

Chairman John Fry and chief executive Martyn Starnes also rewarded each of them with a £5 gift voucher for the club shop.

Hartlepool United (4-3-3): Budtz; Sweeney, Collins, Nelson, Robson; Jones, Humphreys, Liddle; Mackay, Kyle, Porter (Foley 57). Subs not used: Monkhouse, Power, Rowell, Cook.

Yeovil Town (4-4-2): Wagenaar; Alcock, Forbes (Brown 29), Skiverton, Smith; Downes (Welsh 79), Peltier, Schofield, Warne; Noel-Williams, Rodgers (Tomlin 85). Subs not used: Jones, Murtagh.