Pools Tuesday trip to Oldham is vital

if Hartlepool United do go down this season,m most of the blame will go to their dismal form in the first half of the season, but the four points they have dropped at home in the last week could also have a major bearing on their fate.

Goalless draws against Colchester and Yeovil once again underlined their age-old weakness in front of goal, and provided a prime example of opportunities lost.

Tuesday night’s visit to Oldham is as big a game as Pools will play between now and the end of the season – a win could turn the whole season round, anything else and their task will begin to look even bigger than it already is.

Meanwhile, the knives are still out for boss Hughes as terrace “experts” use websites to have a go at a manager who arrived when Pools were relegation certainties and gave them a chance of survival.

He is criticised for his substitutions, but when your team is struggling to score it’s vital you use what little scope you have to change things, and if sub Antony Sweeney had found a better finish late on, who could have claimed the boss got it wrong?

As Pools failed to find a way through high-flying Yeovil’s defence,  their fellow strugglers at the wrong end of the League One table all dropped points, too, apart from Portsmouth, who did Pools a favour by beating Bury.

It all means that John Hughes side are now six points from safety, and while that is a gap they have every right to feel they can close – after all, they have only lost once in the last nine – it’s a big ask as time begins to run out.

Yeovil’s Paddy Madden hit the underside of the home bar in the first half,  but the best chance Pools had all game didn’t arrive until six minutes from the end when Sweeney broke away, but prodded his shot too close to Yeovil keeper Marek Stech, and he saved with his foot.

"It is frustrating because we had the best chance of the match and could have nicked it - but I felt a draw was possibly a fair result," Hughes told the club website.

"It was played on difficult conditions underfoot but I just thought we lacked that cutting edge and maybe one or two of them looked a little fatigued, which I can understand.

"The effort and commitment they have been putting in is commendable but maybe mentally they're just a bit tired too but I thought we still went about our business well.

"We showed the desire and determination to keep ourselves in the game and go and try and win it. So it's frustrating, though there's no anger.

"It's frustrating because everyone around us lost today and that could have been another two points towards safety - but it could be the point that keeps us up.

"Anybody watching can see that they want to fight and we're definitely doing that."

They’ll need to do it again on Tuesday, and this time find the net.

If a sub scores a winner, what will the "experts" make of that?