Paul Hartley is convinced Hartlepool are getting stronger despite being hit with a late blow that earned Crewe a point at the Suit Direct Stadium.

The Pools boss was on course to collect his first three points since taking over in the summer when Josh Umerah hammered in a penalty in the 34th minute.

But failure to make the most of their better play proved decisive when Crewe equalised with four minutes remaining through Daniel Agyei.

Hartlepool remain in the bottom two, two points adrift of Gillingham above them and have not won since March – the longest active winless run in the EFL.

Hartley said: “I’m bitterly disappointed – we were comfortable. It’s about game management and seeing the game out, but sometimes you have to be ruthless.

“We didn’t start the second half well, but I always felt we could score a second.

“One ball cost us. We have to get a body in the right position, match runners and see what’s coming across you. In one second, it’s 1-1.

“I felt comfortable and we were fine. Our keeper doesn’t have much to do and at the other end, we have to tie the game up.

“I felt the performance was good at times, but a sucker-punch – like at Colchester – has got the better of us.

“I feel gradually we are getting much stronger, we are settled now and it’s taken a long time to get this group together and we’ve got there now.”

Hartlepool could not field latest signing Chris Maguire – who could still face sanctions if found guilty of breaching the FA’s betting rules – following his switch on Monday.

Hartley added: “Chris will bring quality and experience. I understand the situation and we will deal with it when it comes along, but we have a player who can play for us right now.”

Crewe boss Alex Morris was far from happy despite seeing his side leave the north east with a point when Agyei turned in Charlie Finney’s cross.

He said: “We were marginally better second half than we were the first. What a waste of a night that was, we were awful all the game. We had a good spell for 10 minutes leading to the goal.

“We didn’t impose ourselves on the game at all. We switched the system a little bit and it was a forgettable night.

“We could only make five substitutes. We could have made more than that at half-time. We needed to flip the system a bit as the game went on, try to put a footprint on the game.

“What we did have today was substitutes who had an impact on the game. That was the shining light. Charlie Finney coming on for his debut and setting up the goal. Charlie played an hour yesterday (for the Under-23s) with this game in mind.

“The thing that angered me the most, the lads on the bench celebrated the goal. I would have celebrated the winner but that wouldn’t have masked the performance. I have to get these players to perform over the 90 minutes.”