Hartlepool United 1-1 Northampton Town: John Askey's wait for first win continues after Sam Hoskins late equaliser

Josh Umerah returned to the starting line-up to hand John Askey’s side a first half lead before Sam Hoskins earned the Cobblers a point nine minutes from time.

It’s a result which sees Hartlepool now only one point above the relegation zone after Crawley Town’s win over Harrogate.

Askey was searching for his first win as Hartlepool boss after earning back-to-back draws since his appointment last month.

Despite rescuing an unlikely point against Walsall in his first game in charge, Askey was keen to acknowledge a significant improvement in performance was needed - something which he felt he got against Tranmere Rovers albeit without the result to accompany it.

But it was a performance enough for Askey to keep faith with the majority of his starting line-up to face a depleted Northampton side with Umerah the only change from the draw at Prenton Park.

Umerah has been missing since Askey’s arrival at the club with a knee injury, as well as illness, but was a welcome boost for the return to the Suit Direct Stadium.

He partnered Connor Jennings, who opened his Pools account last time out here, with Askey continuing with the midfield trio of Mohamad Sylla, Callum Cooke and League Two’s player of the month for February Dan Kemp - Nicky Featherstone again on the bench.

Northampton represented the first of three consecutive games against the league’s top five for Hartlepool but given their injury struggles this did present itself, perhaps, as an opportunity to build on an encouraging performance against Tranmere.

And despite a relatively even opening, Pools had Jakub Stolarczyk to thank inside five minutes when making a good save to thwart Mitch Pinnock’s curling effort.

Pinnock’s long-throw had been cleared back to the midfielder and his first-time effort was headed towards the top corner before Stolarczyk intervened.

The goalkeepers would take centre stage in the first half with both making a number of fine saves with former Sunderland stopper Lee Burge quickly tested by Sylla after he picked up Cooke’s corner from the right to fire low through the crowd with Burge saving well to his right.

The attacking quartertet of Kemp, Cooke, Jennings and Umerah looked lively in the opening quarter-of-an-hour - Kemp just a little wayward with some of his final balls.

Jennings won a ball on the right ahead of Ryan Hayes he had no right to win before expertly picking out Umerah who slid just wide as Askey’s side pressed for the opening goal.

Midway through the half and it was back to Stolarczyk who made two excellent saves first to deny Louis Appere and then Marc Leonard.

Appere had the run on Euan Murray on the left of the area before shifting onto his left foot with a low cross-goal effort which Stolarczyk saved with his legs before, from the resulting corner, making a flying save to his left to keep out Leonard’s fierce strike.

Sylla then brought another fine stop out of Burge after David Ferguson, captain for the day, linked well with Cooke to pick out the midfielder on the edge of the area with Burge again saving low to his right and holding well.

Burge then produced, arguably, the pick of the bunch of saves in the first half to deny Umerah.

The striker looped Cooke’s corner towards the far corner only for Burge, at full-stretch, to push agonisingly over the bar for Hartlepool.

With results elsewhere in the first half going against Hartlepool, it was important for them to find a breakthrough and they did less than 10 minutes before the break as, this time, Umerah got the better of Burge.

Ferguson clipped a clever ball into the middle of the final third as Northampton’s defenders stopped, waiting for a flag which did not come, as Umerah was able to take the ball under control to then hold off Haynes and Jon Guthrie before placing well into the bottom corner from the edge of the area for his 14th goal of the season.

Edon Pruti looked nervously at the referee when being caught inside his own penalty area by Hoskins - who would go down with nothing given by Thomas Kirk.

Hartlepool might have doubled their lead going into the break when Umerah was able to flick a header into the path of Jennings who found himself unmarked in the penalty area but the ball just wouldn’t sit for him to strike cleanly enough as he looped one into the side netting.

Cobblers boss Jon Brady made a change at the break with Max Dyche introduced and it was the away side who looked the more threatening for much of the early stages of the second half - both Murray and Pruti making key headed clearances.

And Hartlepool were given a warning 10 minutes into the half when Northampton did have the ball in the net after Sam Sherring converted following Guthrie’s attempt which came back off the bar, only for the offside flag to be raised.

Pools struggled to find that attacking impetus which had troubled Northampton in the opening 45 minutes as the away side continued to press - Pinnock firing over from distance just after the hour.

Askey might have felt his luck was in when substitute Kieron Bowie spurned an excellent opportunity having got the run on Taylor Foran from halfway before firing over the bar.

But Pools failed to switch on from a quick corner a minute later as Pinnock was able to cross towards the back post where Hoskins was on hand through a crowd of bodies to level the scores as Askey had to settle for a third successive point since taking charge as the League Two relegation battle intensifies.

Hartlepool United XI: Stolarczyk, Sterry, Foran, Murray (Dodds ‘75), Pruti, Ferguson ©, Sylla, Cooke (Featherstone ‘63), Kemp, Jennings, Umerah

Subs: Killip, Dolan, Finney, Kiernan, McDonald

Northampton Town XI: Burge, Sowerby, Guthrie, Sherring, Hoskins, Appere (Bowie ‘70), Pinnock, Leonard, Lintott, Eppiah (Dyche ‘45), Haynes (Yengi ‘70)

Subs: King, Hondermarck, Wright-Phillips, Osew

Referee: Thomas Kirk

Attendance: 5,021 (363 Northampton)