YOU could say that Anthony Williams enjoys facing penalties.

The keeper with an exemplary record for the Welsh under-21 side has brought his spot-kick saving expertise to Hatlepool United - and put it to good affect on Saturday.

That form team Pool made it nine unbeaten Division Three outings at Shrewsbury was thanks in no small part to the former Blackburn prodigy.

Nine minutes remained when Micky Barron felled Ryan Lowe in the penalty area and their unbeaten run looked shot.

It's no surprise that a Pool trip to Gay Meadow hinged on the outcome of a spot kick. Two season's ago Paul Baker netted a rebound from Denny Ingram's effort to help preserve their League status and 12 months earlier, Graeme Lee conceded a last-gasp penalty that meant Pool lost 1-0.

This time, however, Lowe stepped up, but Williams dived to his right to claw the penalty away and preserve the run and dispel the myth that the newly-crowned manager of the month sees his team lose its next outing.

While totting up a record 14 caps for his national side at under-21 level, Williams managed to stop six penalties - and that includes an unheard of four in two games against Italy and Denmark as well as stops against Belarus and Holland.

Saturday's saver was his second in the Pool number 23 shirt after denying Southend's Martin Carruthers in the first game of this fine run way back on December 2 last year.

"I've saved a lot of them and I'm always confident,'' he declared. "If you save them you are a hero, if you don't then people aren't really bothered - but I've saved more than I've let in.

"It was a good height for me and he struck it well, but at that last sage of the game it changes things and to be honest, I don't think we would have got back into it if he had scored.

"I suppose it rubbishes the voodoo for the manager of the month award anyway.''

While Pool boss Chris Turner made his name as a top-flight keeper, Ipswich compatriot Paul cooper was making the headlines as the game's spot-kick stopper.

Cooper was loathe to reveal his secrets, but Williams admitted: "I just looked at his run up. He was running side on, so I thought he could only put it across me and luckily h did. Normally, all you have to do is pick where to go and hopefully you will get it.

"All the time you are looking at him and his run up - I thought he would put it to my right and luckily he did - mind you, a couple of the lads have been giving me some stick because they said I should have held it!"

On a difficult pitch that was under four foot of water last month, Pool struggled to find any of the football displayed in the win at Barnet seven days earlier.

This result keeps Pool in the play-off zone in seventh spot, eight points off an automatic promotion spot, three behind sixth-placed Southend and one place and one point above Blackpool - the Division's other form team who visit Pool on Saturday on the back of a 6-0 thumping of Scunthorpe on Saturday.

"I think it was a fair result,'' added Williams. "There's wasn't many chances in the game, the goal we gave away was poor and it was important that we scored at the other end to keep the run going.

"Confidence is so high among the lads and everyone believed we were going to get back into it after they scored.''

Clear chances throughout were few and far between and both goals came from individual errors.

There was no danger as Paul Stephenson got the ball on the half-way line, but he prodded it into the path of Micky Brown and he was quick to feed Aiston.

The former Sunderland winger had yet to open his goalscoring account in over 75 games, but had no hesitation in lifting the ball over the advancing Williams into the net.

Soon after Sam Shilton and Craig Midgley got in each others way as they contrived to spurn a chance after finding room behind the home defence.

Pool's equaliser was in tone with the untidy nature of the game. Kevin Henderson chased a long ball and pulled it back from the touchline into the path of Midgley. He found Miller in the penalty area and as he turned the ball towards goal with keeper Ian Dunbavin beaten, defender Kevin Seabury got the last touch.

In reality, Miller should this morning be sitting pretty on 14 goals - Seabury won't want it crediting to him and it would have gone in without the defenders effort.

It might take some persuading at Football League towers to hand it to Miller, but maybe a phone call this morning won't go amiss.

Mark Tinkler saw a header tipped from under the bar by Dunbavin, but Pool were thankful for Williams at the other end for some quick thinking after James Sharp left a touch back to his keeper short and into the path of Nigel Jemson.

The ex-Nottingham Forest front man failed to make any impact and was roundly booed as he was substituted. He is also the Shrews' regular penalty taker and hasn't missed one yet this season.

Good job for Pool then, the penalty task was left to Lowe who was looking for his first goal in football.

There again, with Williams in goal who is to say that Jemson would have got the better of him?

Goals: Aiston (14mins 1-0); Seabury og (28, 1-1)

Bookings: Murray, Hanmer, Aiston, Sharp, Lormor (fouls)

Referee: Phil Prosser (Cheltenham)

Attendance: 2,528

SHREWSBURY (4-4-2): Dunbavin 6; Davidson 6, Seabury 6, Hughes 7, Wilding 6; Murray 6, Peer 6, Hanmer 6, AISTON 8; Brown 6 (Jagielka 75), Jemson 6 (Lowe 69, 6). Subs (not used): Thomas, Thompson, Rodgers.

HARTLEPOOL (3-5-2): WILLIAMS 8; Sharp 7, Barron 6 (Aspin 82), Westwood 6; Shilton 6, Miller 7, Tinkler 7, Stephenson 6, Arnison 6, Midgley 7, Henderson 7 (Lormor 75). Subs (not used): Hollund, Clark, Fitzpatrick.

MAN OF THE MATCH: SAM Aiston - the game's liveliest spark