John Askey makes bold selection call as Harrogate Town goalkeeper impresses on Hartlepool United debut

Hartlepool overcame a game Wealdstone in a narrow 2-1 victory to maintain the perfect start to the National League season at the Suit Direct Stadium with four wins out of four.

But John Askey’s side were made to sweat on their slender lead and had debut goalkeeper Jameson to thank for being on guard in the second half to ensure the three points remained in the North East.

Jameson was a surprise selection from Askey who made the decision to rotate his goalkeepers after Joel Dixon had been handed the No.1 shirt this season.

Dixon, who arrived from Bolton Wanderers in the summer, had started all six of Hartlepool’s National League fixtures in August but is yet to keep a clean sheet.

And following the defeat at Chesterfield, Askey made the decision to bring Harrogate Town loanee Jameson in for his Pools debut against Wealdstone.

Jameson was largely a spectator in the first half before being called into action a number of times after the break.

Jameson twice denied Tahvon Campbell before making a stunning save to keep out former Hartlepool forward Olufela Olomola in the closing stages.

And although Jameson was unable to keep a clean sheet on his debut, after Tarryn Allarakhia’s well-executed strike, the 30-year-old gave a good account of himself in front of the home supporters.

"I think we’ve got a good group of goalkeepers, and that will be the case throughout the season,” Hartlepool’s assistant manager Mark Goodlad explained.

“It doesn’t matter who has the shirt, they’ve got to keep it because they’re going to have the other one on their toes.

"But only one of them can play,” he added.

"The gaffer has a decision to make for who he’s going to play for each game and which decision is right for each game.

"I’m sure they’ll work together in training, they get on great and they’ll push each other and encourage each other, which they have.”

Jameson worked under Askey at York City as the club achieved promotion to the National League in 2022.

But Askey suggested throughout the summer that he welcomed the competition he had on his hands between both Jameson and Dixon to win the gloves for Pools, having said a strong goalkeeping department is key to being able to achieve success.

“I’ve always had decent keepers,” said Askey.

"I think if you want to achieve something you need to have decent goalkeepers and I think Joel and Pete provide that, they provide competition for each other.

Askey continued: "If you haven’t got that [competition] it becomes difficult in training, so I was really pleased to get the two of them and they get on really well with one another, which is important.

"Hopefully they don’t have to do too much this season, but when called upon they can make a big difference to us."

Both Dixon and Jameson, as well as Askey, are still waiting for their first clean sheets with Hartlepool – Askey having now managed 20 games without keeping a clean sheet since taking over in February.