A former Hartlepool United defender was praised after he impressed in a surprise playing comeback on Tuesday night.

Former Hartlepool United favourite Michael Nelson produced a ‘defensive masterclass’ after making a surprise playing comeback at the age of 46 on Tuesday night.

The former Pools centre-back featured for the likes of Norwich City, Hibs and Bradford City during a 25-year playing career and made over 250 appearances during a six-year stay at Victoria Park between 2003 and 2009. Nelson returned to Pools after being appointed as Graeme Lee’s assistant manager in December 2021 and has also held coaching roles with Scunthorpe United and Northern League club Park View in recent seasons before being named as an academy coach at National League North club South Shields this summer.

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Nelson has not made an on-field appearance since he appeared for Park View in the Northern League’s second tier two years ago - but he made a shock comeback for Easington Colliery on Tuesday night as they claimed a surprise Durham Challenge Cup win against Northern Premier League club Stockton Town.

Nelson took his place at the heart of a makeshift Colliers defence after Olly Hotchkiss’ squad was decimated by injuries and unavailability and he produced an impressive performance that ensured his side kept a clean sheet and earned praise from his manager.

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Speaking after the game, Hotchkiss told The Mail: “Nelse was a breath of fresh air and there aren’t many people I look at and I’m in awe of them. He’s come to help us, he was first there and he showed just how professional he is with the way he conducts himself and the way he talks to the other players. The great thing was the way he bounced off me at half-time and that’s not always the way at Easington because we are a young squad. It was refreshing, it was like having a second manager on the pitch.

“The message to the players was when Nelse says jump they ask how high. I asked the lads to learn from him because he put on a defensive masterclass. He’s 46-years-old and people asked about his legs in the game but it’s in his head. He never got ran, he never got run. If I describe the performance, it was like a Rolls Royce.”

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