Paul Ince endured a frustrating start to his second spell as MK Dons boss as they were held by dogged Hartlepool.
Hartlepool dominated early on and Leon McSweeney came close to poking in skipper Sam Collins' long throw before Gary Liddle planted a free header wide.
For the Dons, stand-in skipper Jemal Johnson blasted two efforts just wide.
Denis Behan missed a good chance for Hartlepool, while Dons' Mat Doumbe twice headed over and Jason Puncheon's free-kick was saved by Scott Flinders.
MK Dons manager Paul Ince told BBC Three Counties Radio: "We're down to the bare bones at the moment and you have to take a point. It gives us something to build on.
"We didn't really start well, but in the second-half we could have won the game.
"I thought the back four were fantastic. It is pleasing to get the clean sheet and we can gain confidence through that."
Live text and stats
Saturday, 8 August 2009
League One
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
MK Dons
0-0
Hartlepool
FT
(HT 0-0)
MK Dons
12 Gueret
04 Doumbe
05 McCracken yellow card
15 Woodards
23 Powell
10 Johnson
13 Carrington
16 Puncheon
21 Howell yellow card
26 Chadwick (Gobern 61)
08 Easter (Bridges 83)
Substitutes
17 Searle,
28 Chicksen,
14 Gobern,
18 Partridge,
27 King,
24 Bridges
Hartlepool
01 Flinders
05 Collins
16 Haslam
29 Hartley
04 Liddle yellow card
07 McSweeney
08 Jones (Brown 64)
11 Monkhouse
15 Sweeney
19 Fredriksen (Rowell 90+2)
09 Behan
Substitutes
31 Thomas,
02 Austin,
14 Rowell,
10 Boyd,
12 Brown,
17 Foley
Ref: HillAtt: 8,965
MK DONS
HARTLEPOOL
Possession
MK Dons48%
Hartlepool52%
Attempts on target
MK Dons6
Hartlepool5
Attempts off target
MK Dons6
Hartlepool4
Corners
MK Dons8
Hartlepool8
Fouls
MK Dons19
Hartlepool17
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+2:15 The final whistle goes and the game is over.
89:28 Free kick awarded for a foul by Andy Monkhouse on Luke Howell. David McCracken takes the free kick.
87:14 Corner taken by Jon-Andre Fredriksen, save by Willy Gueret.
85:12 Dan Woodards challenges Denis Behan unfairly and gives away a free kick. Steven Haslam crosses the ball in from the free kick.
84:24 Foul by Lewis Gobern on Andy Monkhouse, free kick awarded. Jon-Andre Fredriksen delivers the ball from the free kick left-footed from left channel, Darren Powell manages to make a clearance. Steven Haslam crosses the ball.
82:59 The referee blows for offside against Antony Sweeney. Willy Gueret takes the direct free kick.
82:02 Substitution Michael Bridges on for Jermaine Easter.
80:49 Leon McSweeney challenges Dan Woodards unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Dan Woodards.
79:57 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Andy Monkhouse by Mathias Doumbe. Direct free kick taken by Jon-Andre Fredriksen.
79:08 Jason Puncheon takes a shot. Save made by Scott Flinders.
78:12 Leon McSweeney takes the inswinging corner, save made by Willy Gueret.
75:17 Lewis Gobern fouled by Peter Hartley, the ref awards a free kick. Jason Puncheon crosses the ball in from the free kick, clearance made by Antony Sweeney.
Correction - 74:22 Effort from long distance by Jason Puncheon goes wide right of the target.
74:22 Jason Puncheon has shot on goal from a long way out that goes wide left.
73:36 Unfair challenge on Lewis Gobern by Andy Monkhouse results in a free kick. David McCracken takes the free kick.
71:24 Jason Puncheon produces a strike on goal direct from the free kick, save made by Scott Flinders. Jason Puncheon produces a cross, Header on goal by Dan Woodards from inside the box goes harmlessly over the target.
71:24 Booking Gary Liddle receives a caution for unsporting behaviour.
71:07 Gary Liddle challenges Jermaine Easter unfairly and gives away a free kick.
67:29 Jermaine Easter is ruled offside.
64:35 The assistant referee signals for offside against James Brown. Free kick taken by Willy Gueret. Jason Puncheon has an effort at goal from outside the box which goes wide left of the goal.
63:20 Substitution James Brown on for Ritchie Jones.
61:58 Ritchie Jones has an effort direct from the free kick.
61:58 Booking Luke Howell is booked.
61:49 Free kick awarded for a foul by Luke Howell on Ritchie Jones.
60:08 Substitution Luke Chadwick goes off and Lewis Gobern comes on.
60:08 Jemal Johnson takes a inswinging corner from the left by-line played to the near post, Mathias Doumbe has a header from inside the six-yard box and clears the crossbar.
59:23 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Ritchie Jones by Jemal Johnson. Steven Haslam crosses the ball in from the free kick, save made by Willy Gueret.
58:26 Jason Puncheon takes a shot. Save made by Scott Flinders.
Correction - 56:51 Foul by Luke Howell on Leon McSweeney, free kick awarded. Direct effort from the free kick comes in from Steven Haslam. Shot by Steven Haslam from outside the box goes high over the target.
56:51 Luke Howell gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Leon McSweeney. Antony Sweeney shoots direct from the free kick. Effort from just outside the area by Antony Sweeney goes over the bar.
54:22 Jermaine Easter fouled by Sam Collins, the ref awards a free kick. Jason Puncheon fires a strike on goal direct from the free kick, save by Scott Flinders.
53:24 Corner taken right-footed by Jason Puncheon, Sam Collins manages to make a clearance.
52:50 Corner taken by Jemal Johnson from the left by-line, clearance made by Sam Collins.
51:25 Luke Chadwick is caught offside. Scott Flinders takes the direct free kick.
50:44 Unfair challenge on Luke Chadwick by Ritchie Jones results in a free kick. Luke Howell takes the direct free kick.
49:06 Unfair challenge on Gary Liddle by Jermaine Easter results in a free kick. Scott Flinders takes the free kick.
48:18 Unfair challenge on Luke Chadwick by Sam Collins results in a free kick. Luke Howell takes the free kick.
45:01 The referee blows his whistle to start the second half.
Half Time
45:00+2:19 The referee calls an end to the first half.
45:00+0:07 Ritchie Jones takes a inswinging corner from the left by-line to the near post.
44:02 Jon-Andre Fredriksen fouled by Luke Howell, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Sam Collins.
43:11 Foul by Leon McSweeney on Jemal Johnson, free kick awarded. Willy Gueret restarts play with the free kick.
42:43 Jon-Andre Fredriksen decides to take the corner short.
42:13 Foul by Jason Puncheon on Ritchie Jones, free kick awarded. Steven Haslam takes the direct free kick.
41:41 Ritchie Jones concedes a free kick for a foul on Jason Puncheon. Willy Gueret takes the indirect free kick.
40:43 Direct free kick taken by Gary Liddle.
40:43 Booking The referee shows David McCracken a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
40:30 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Leon McSweeney by David McCracken.
Correction - 37:17 Jemal Johnson takes a shot. Save by Scott Flinders. Jermaine Easter decides to take a short corner, Effort from deep inside the area by Jason Puncheon clears the bar.
37:17 Jemal Johnson takes a shot. Save by Scott Flinders. Short corner worked by Jermaine Easter, Jason Puncheon takes a shot. Save made by Scott Flinders. Jemal Johnson takes a outswinging corner to the near post, save made by Scott Flinders.
35:23 The referee blows for offside against Jermaine Easter. Scott Flinders restarts play with the free kick.
33:26 Ritchie Jones gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Willy Gueret. Willy Gueret takes the direct free kick.
33:02 The ball is swung over by Jason Puncheon.
32:32 Gary Liddle gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Jemal Johnson. Luke Howell restarts play with the free kick.
31:49 Inswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Jason Puncheon, clearance by Sam Collins.
29:30 Free kick awarded for a foul by Luke Howell on Denis Behan. Ritchie Jones sends in a cross, Denis Behan takes a shot. Save by Willy Gueret. Jon-Andre Fredriksen takes a outswinging corner from the right by-line played to the near post, clearance by Mark Carrington.
27:05 Effort on goal by Denis Behan from long range goes harmlessly over the target.
25:21 Corner taken by Jon-Andre Fredriksen from the right by-line played to the near post, clearance made by Darren Powell.
23:08 David McCracken concedes a free kick for a foul on Denis Behan. Direct strike on goal from the free kick comes in from Denis Behan. Centre by Denis Behan.
22:19 Foul by Jermaine Easter on Sam Collins, free kick awarded. Sam Collins takes the direct free kick.
21:55 Shot from 35 yards by Ritchie Jones missed to the left of the target.
21:25 Free kick awarded for a foul by Mathias Doumbe on Gary Liddle. Scott Flinders takes the direct free kick.
20:50 Unfair challenge on Luke Chadwick by Ritchie Jones results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Dan Woodards.
18:29 Free kick awarded for a foul by Sam Collins on Jermaine Easter. Jemal Johnson fires a strike on goal direct from the free kick, save by Scott Flinders.
17:35 Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Jon-Andre Fredriksen from the right by-line, Headed effort from inside the area by Gary Liddle misses to the left of the goal.
13:29 Denis Behan takes a shot. Save made by Willy Gueret.
11:08 Dan Woodards challenges Leon McSweeney unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick crossed right-footed by Antony Sweeney from right wing, clearance by Andy Monkhouse. Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Ritchie Jones from the left by-line, Darren Powell manages to make a clearance.
7:33 Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Jemal Johnson, Darren Powell gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Gary Liddle. Scott Flinders restarts play with the free kick.
6:43 Foul by Jermaine Easter on Gary Liddle, free kick awarded. Scott Flinders takes the free kick.
6:18 Andy Monkhouse concedes a free kick for a foul on Mathias Doumbe. Free kick taken by Willy Gueret.
4:22 Effort on goal by Jemal Johnson from just outside the area goes harmlessly over the target.
3:43 Foul by Leon McSweeney on Mathias Doumbe, free kick awarded. Mathias Doumbe takes the direct free kick.
3:16 Free kick awarded for a foul by Denis Behan on Mark Carrington. Direct free kick taken by Willy Gueret.
2:10 The referee blows for offside against Leon McSweeney. Mark Carrington takes the free kick.
1:40 Jermaine Easter challenges Sam Collins unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Scott Flinders.
0:36 Unfair challenge on Denis Behan by Jemal Johnson results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Sam Collins.
0:00 The referee starts the match.
Live text and data provided by The Press Association.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Brighton 0-1 Walsall
Bookmark with:
What are these?