New owner Landon Smith was in attendance as Hartlepool scraped a 1-0 win at home to Altrincham.
The American businessman, who completed a takeover of the club on December 31, was introduced to a bumper home crowd at the start of the game, but Pools put in a flat first 45 minutes.
New Hartlepool goalkeeper Nick Hayes denied James Gale and Ollie Crankshaw in a one-sided half, but Nicky Featherstone’s side improved after the break.
Substitute Matty Daly hit the crossbar with a header and striker Alex Reid also went close before he converted the winner from the penalty spot after he had been brought down by Dan Sassi.
