Hartlepool United 3 Walsall 1

Richard Money is facing the biggest challenge of his managerial career with Walsall after this defeat put another question mark against their automatic promotion aspirations.

Only one win in the last five matches is not the stuff of champions, and it will be disappointing if they end up in the play-offs having dominated League Two for most of the season.

They are still top but the warning signs have been there for weeks and the sale of striker James Constable to Kidderminster with no-one signed to replace him is beginning to look a costly error.

Although the Saddlers played some good football and were a shade unlucky to lose this one, Hartlepool are the best side this writer has seen in the division so far. Unbeaten in 15 league games, Danny Wilson's buzzing outfit seem well-equipped to go on and clinch promotion, especially as their next three matches are against three struggling teams — Torquay United, Macclesfield Town and Boston United.

Walsall could, however, benefit from this result if they take note of how Pool played the entire match at such a high tempo in a galeforce wind and rain. In recent home appearances the Saddlers have hardly threatened the opposition goal and rarely built up a head of steam.

Now Money has to make a crucial decision in the next couple of weeks which could have a major impact on the remaining 14 fixtures. Should he recruit a couple of players on loan to beef up the squad, or stick with the men who have performed so well in retaining the leadership on a tight budget?

He said: "I honestly believe our players deserve to see this through. But I will say this to everybody — we will do whatever we think is necessary to make sure we achieve the goals we want to this year. We set a target to finish winning the league because sometimes, if you don't set the goal that high, you can miss out.

"The most important thing is that we play in League One next season."

The final three minutes decided the issue between two of the best teams in the division. With the scores level, Martin Butler was racing through for Walsall in the 87th minute when he was tugged by home defender Ben Clark, but the referee clearly felt he didn't want the issue decided by a penalty, and ignored the foul.

That led to fierce Hartlepool pressure in which they won a free kick just outside the area and when the ball was tapped to him the impressive Ritchie Humphreys just beat Clayton Ince with a fierce rising drive in the final minute of normal time.

Richie Barker added a third which should have been ruled out for offside in stoppage time, and the home players celebrated as if they had won promotion, which they should do in May.

Walsall had made such a fine start, going ahead in the third minute when Butler notched his 11th of the season from Scott Dann's pass following a Mark Wright corner, and when they were still ahead at half time, despite facing the howling wind, a vital win was on the cards.

At the start of the second half Tony Bedeau, a surprise starter in view of his disappointing form since arriving from Torquay at the start of the season, was replaced by Kris Taylor and the switch improved the team's approach play, but they still looked desperately short of belief in the final third and allowed big defender Michael Nelson a free header to equalise from a corner after 53 minutes.

Swedish striker Par Cederqvist did some excellent work clearing his own lines but the Saddlers need him to start showing what he can do in the opposition area, and Hector Sam must do better with his finishing, too.

Several times Walsall hit Hartlepool on the break, only to show a worrying lack of confidence to go on and put the ball in the net with the home defence shredded.

Now the Saddlers must be prepared to give one of their best displays for weeks when they face another of their promotion rivals, Lincoln City, at Bescot Stadium on Friday night.

Scorers: Butler (3) 0-1; Nelson (53) 1-1; Humphreys (89) 2-1; Barker (90) 3-1.

HARTLEPOOL UNITED (4-4-2): Konstantopoulos; Barron, Nelson, Clark, Humphreys; Brown (Gibb. 90), Sweeney, Liddle, Monkhouse; Barker, E Williams (Foley, 66). Subs: Bullock, Provett, D Williams.
WALSALL (4-4-2): Ince; Pead, Westwood, Dann, Fox; Wright (Demontagnac, 75), Dobson, Keates, Bedeau (Taylor, 46); Butler, Cederqvist (Sam, 68). Subs: Bossu, Lyall.
Referee: I Mason (Lancs).
Bookins: Walsall — Cederqvist, Keates, Taylor (fouls), Butler, Fox (dissent).
Attendance: 5,847.