Harrogate Town 0 Tranmere Rovers 2: 'Lessons to be learned' as Sulphurites' winning run comes to an end

The pair both struck in the second half as the Wirral outfit also ended a run of 21 contests on the road without a clean sheet – the club’s longest sequence since December 2002.

Harrogate manager Simon Weaver was left to reflect on a lesson learnt after his team’s first-half dominance was not reflected by the half-time scoreline.

“All the stats will point to a game that we dominated for long periods, although the second half was a lot more even,” he said.

“They were ruthless in front of goal when they got their chances, whereas we weren’t, so fair play to them.

“We could have been out of sight in the first half if we had turned our dominance into goals, but we didn’t and that might have deflated the lads, because we seemed to run out of steam.

“We lost a bit of composure and looked disappointed after conceding having played so well in that first half, but we have to move on quickly.

“We have been in fantastic form, as was shown in that first half when the confidence was flowing. It’s a lesson for us because, when you’re on top, you have to make sure you make the right decisions in front of goal and take your chances because, if we had, it would have been an altogether different story.”

Earlier, during a first half of one-way traffic, Harrogate had been unfortunate not to take a lead into the interval.

The best two chances saw Josh March’s outstretched leg guide Matty Foulds’ inviting left-wing cross narrowly wide and Matty Daly call Rovers keeper Luke McGee into a smart near-post save.

Tranmere, meanwhile, failed to register a single shot in the opening 45 minutes.

But Rovers boss Nigel Adkins made a double substitution at the break and the momentum of the game completely shifted.

In the 54th minute, one of those half-time replacements – Jolley – opened the scoring when he charged into the box to collect Connor Jennings’ pass and fired past an exposed James Belshaw from 10 yards after home attacker Abraham Odoh had surrendered possession cheaply.

Skipper Davies then doubled the advantage in the 70th minute, rising highest in the home six-yard box to meet Regan Hendry’s right-wing corner with a firm downward header.