Harrogate Tow manager Simon Weaver hopes adrenaline rush can be sustained after FA Cup triumph

After headline derby wins on home soil in League Two against Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City earlier this autumn, Simon Weaver’s side followed up with a marquee victory in front of a sold-out home contingent and watching TV audience against Wrexham to put them one step away from equalling their best-ever run in the FA Cup.

The Sulphurites have reached the third round of the world’s most famous domestic cup competition on just one previous occasion, back in 2021-22, when they also ironically beat Wrexham at home in the first round.

In that campaign, Harrogate received a pretty modest third-round draw at Championship side Luton Town and bowed out in comprehensive fashion.

To be in with a chance of reaching round three and being potentially involved in a plum tie in one of the blue riband weekends of the domestic calendar in early January, the Wetherby Road outfit must negotiate a second-round tie against Northern Premier League outfit Gainsborough Trinity, managed by former York City boss and Doncaster Rovers captain Russ Wilcox, on the final weekend of November.

Having already banked £45,000 in FA prize money - their financial reward for being victorious in round one - Harrogate’s cup kitty will reach six figures if they can dispose of the Dolly Blues, whose previous appearance in the third round was in 1886-87.

Each second-round victor will pocket an additional £75,000.

Weaver, whose side earned their passage into round two thanks to Jack Muldoon’s 24th-minute header, said: “There’s been lots of adrenalin running through the veins of all the players in the past week as there was before those (Bradford and Doncaster) games as well.

“The lads grabbed the moment in the limelight again and it does wonders for the confidence.

“It was a great moment that we will always remember because of the size of the opposition and the occasion that they brought to it really.

“The performance was very memorable and if we can go through a couple of rounds, it’s great. It’s great for the coffers as it’s difficult at this level. Making headway is a costly exercise when you have got 3,000 as your fanbase.

“But we want to keep progressing and the only way to do that is to capitalise on opportunities.

“We’ve got to take that intensity into training again when they are back in.”

Intensity, resolve and concentration were the three words which best summed up Town’s approach on the day as they stunned high-profile outfit and renowned cup specialists Wrexham, owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

At the heart of a fine collective effort were outstanding central defenders Anthony O’Connor and Jasper Moon, who performed superbly against Wrexham’s array of powerful central strikers.

Weaver, a centre-half himself in his playing days, said: “They have been (outstanding), to be honest, for quite a few weeks. It was an extraordinary effort from both of them.

“They read danger and their anticipation was really razor-sharp and they were decisive when it mattered against really good players."