Former Newcastle United and Derby County goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell reflects on Hartlepool United debut against Crewe Alexandra

Mitchell was handed his first start in goal for Pools in front of a crowd of 3,149 at Victoria Park for the first round cup clash on Tuesday evening.

The hosts would fall to a 1-0 defeat against their 10-man opponents with Callum Ainley getting the better of Mitchell with a close range volley in the second half.

Still, the 26-year-old made a number of impressive saves on his debut, including one just seconds before Crewe’s winning goal.

“The first one I managed to get a hand on and the second I just couldn’t react quickly enough unfortunately,” Mitchell said reflecting on the goal.

“It’s a really proud moment for me getting my debut but obviously I would have liked the result to have been a positive one.

“We relish playing against tougher opposition and I think we did well just in both boxes we have to do our jobs. At the back, we have to keep a clean sheet and give the strikers something to go and build on.

“Especially at home we back ourselves against anybody. The crowd always makes a great atmosphere and it’s a tough place to come and play and we relished the challenge but we just fell short.

“We were a bit guilty of not playing at the right tempo at the back and we just needed to quicken things up and that was it really because we had the lion’s share of possession, we just needed to quicken the tempo.”

Mitchell has returned to the north east for the first time since leaving Newcastle United as a teenager. The goalkeeper is no stranger to The Vic either having held a season ticket in the Cyril Knowles stand growing up.

“Hopefully I won’t need a season ticket to get in now,” he laughed.

“It’s massive for me, it’s my home town, I grew up supporting Pools. Although I’ve moved away for the last seven years, it’s always been my home and now it’s a really exciting opportunity at this moment in the club’s history.

"We’re on an upward curve and there is real positivity around the place and a really good opportunity.”

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