Hartlepool United defender named in National League team of the week after impressing in dominant Carlisle United win
Hartlepool United defender Jay Benn has been named in the National League's team of the week after his impressive performance in Wednesday night's dominant 3-1 win over rivals Carlisle United.
Benn, who has made 29 National League appearances for Pools since sealing a summer move from Lincoln City, has endured a somewhat up-and-down campaign but has produced a string of excellent displays in recent weeks.
Indeed, the 24-year-old showed Pools fans exactly what he can do in midweek as he helped his side get one over on their rivals and take a big step towards the National League play-off places, impressing with his energy, effort and impact at both ends of the pitch.
While there have been times when Benn has been found wanting defensively this term, the defender's levels of commitment and dedication have never wavered throughout a turbulent season for Pools.
Having been signed over the summer to replace Dan Dodds, who was allowed to leave in order to join National League North side South Shields, Benn made a strong start to his Pools career and seemed to thrive at right-wing-back in former boss Simon Grayson's 3-5-2 formation.
However, a spell on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury sustained during August's comfortable win over Altrincham was followed by a dip in form as Pools slipped out of the National League play-off places.
Having been a bit hit-and-miss in the opening weeks of new manager Nicky Featherstone's tenure, Benn seems to have found his feet once again, with the former Halifax Town, Solihull Moors and Bradford City man producing a string of assured showings at both left and right-back.
Benn, who was part of the Bradford side that won promotion to League One last term and also reached the National League play-off final with Solihull in 2024, played a starring role as Pools dismantled big-spending Carlisle in midweek to close the gap between themselves and the top seven to just one point.
With two more home games on the horizon next week - Pools host relegation-threatened Sutton United on Tuesday before entertaining Halifax, one of their direct rivals for a place in the play-offs, on Saturday - Benn and his teammates will be hoping to continue their much-improved recent form as they bid to gatecrash the promotion picture between now and the end of the campaign.