A superb added-time save by Hartlepool goalkeeper George Evans denied Lewis Walker and left Braintree only a point above the Enterprise National League relegation zone after a goalless draw.
Mason Terry, making his first appearance in two months after on-loan Jack Thompson returned to parent club Derby, had been the busier of the two goalkeepers, denying Tom Parkes and then, after the break, Alex Reid, Adam Campbell and Pharrell Brown.
Reid struck the post late on and team-mate Campbell saw his shot tipped over by Terry.
However, the eighth-placed visitors did not have it all their way in an entertaining second half, with Cameron John heading Sahid Kamara’s effort off the line before Evans kept out Walker to ensure it ended all square.
