Harrogate Town 1 Newport County 0: Toby Sims capitalises on Jacob Carney blunder to secure victory

Neither side displayed much attacking exuberance in a relatively dull affair in North Yorkshire, with Toby Sims’ decisive goal a rare moment of excitement.

He was gifted the opportunity to break the deadlock by Newport stopper Jacob Carney, who did not see his error made up for his teammates.

There was a wrestle for control in the early stages, with neither side quite managing to grasp it. Ellis Taylor was the recipient of a skewed Carney clearance but was closed down and denied the chance to shoot.

It was the closest Harrogate came to troubling the visitors in the opening exchanges, although there was equally minimal attacking threat from the Exiles.

Early urgency gave way to a passive nature, as the two sides lacked coherence and intent in their build-up play.

There had not been any desperate defending required but Anthony O’Connor had to be alert when Aaron Wildig sent a low cross in the from the right. Kyle Hudlin was lurking but as the towering frontman swung his right leg, O’Connor slid in to clear the danger.

As the half-time whistle approached, there were only flickers of attacking vibrancy from the teams, rather than sustained improvement.

Matty Daly pulled the trigger after being fed by Dean Cornelius, but the powerful effort lacked the precision required to trouble Carney.

The pair combined again when Cornelius made a crucial interception and fed Daly, but the resulting shot was kept out by Carney.

Newport’s inexperienced stopper, however, had his head in his hands barely a minute later. He fumbled a catch and spilled into the path of Sims, who fired the hosts ahead at point blank range.

Going behind appeared to light a fire in Newport, who spent the final minutes of the first-half trying to force their way back into contention. A looped ball appeared to be dropping kindly in the box for Noah Mawene, but the Newport loanee miscued and missed with a wild swing.

There was a noticeable uptick in the tempo when the teams emerged for the second half, with the visitors initially looking sharper.

Hudlin was the target of Newport’s set-pieces throughout and nodded into the path of Kyle Jameson after being picked out with precision. Jameson swivelled and pulled the trigger at close range but found the wrong side of the crossbar.

Newport’s 6ft 9ins focal point was picked out again, this time by Bobby Kamwa, and forced Belshaw into a save with a powerful header.

Momentum was gathering behind the Exiles but their willingness to commit bodies made them vulnerable to Harrogate’s counter-attacks. Their defensive structure was scattered when Stephen Dooley marched forward and saw his shot deflected off target.

Taylor also managed to threaten amid defensive uncertainty, cutting in from the right and trying his luck only to find the wrong side of the post.

The winger turned provider when he sent a low cross across the box towards James Daly, who was just beaten to the delivery by his marker.

As the second half progressed, a second for Harrogate appeared more likely than a leveller for Newport. Cornelius was a driving force in midfield and was unlucky to see a last-ditch Kyle Jameson block deny him a chance to test Carney.

A late Newport rally failed to materialise, with the Exiles instead fizzling out in the Yorkshire sunshine.

Harrogate’s lead was nearly doubled in the dying embers, when Jack Muldoon and Matty Daly combined to leave Newport’s defence in disarray. Daly appeared set to wrap up the victory in style, but was denied by the outstretched leg of Carney.

At the other end, O’Connor was forced to make a sliding tackle to prevent Courtney Baker-Richardson salvaging a Newport draw deep into stoppage time.