Harrogate Town 1 Wrexham 0: Sulphurites slay the Red Dragons once again in FA Cup shock

Wrexham’s medley of magic FA Cup moments forms an extensive back catalogue spanning the decades.

By contrast, Harrogate Town’s list of accomplishments in this much-loved competition is rather more prosaic, with their only appearance in round three coming in 2021-22.

That ‘run’ included a first-round win over the Red Dragons at Wetherby Road, almost exactly three years to the day.

Late goals secured a 2-1 comeback victory that clearly stuck in the craw of Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson.

Speaking ahead of this latest content, the former Bradford City chief candidly admitted that his team ‘owed’ Harrogate one with memories of that autumnal occasion still vivid.

He will be feeling just as sore after this latest visit and defeat.

At half-time, the classic ingredients for a cup shock, at Wrexham’s expense, were coming together nicely from a Harrogate perspective. The dish was finally served at the final whistle.

The pain for the visitors began early.

Wrexham’s central striking duo of Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin were particularly frustrated, while Parkinson, a manager who prides himself on his teams being exceedingly well organised at the back, will have been narked at such a soft concession on 24 minutes. It proved fatal.

The beneficiary was the wily Jack Muldoon, who found a pocket of space from Stephen Duke-McKenna’s outswinging corner to nod home with the visitors’ defence being negligent in terms of their marking.

It gave Harrogate something to hang onto, crucially.

Early on, the dominance came from those in red jerseys but their radar in front of goal was wonky, while on the two occasions when they presented a threat to Harrogate’s goal, James Belshaw was in good order. Against a side 38 places higher up in the pyramid, the Sulphurites needed him to be.

He kept out Palmer’s header at full stretch and beat away Mullin’s goalbound shot soon after.

Palmer and Mullin were off beam with other efforts, while on the stroke of half-time, a timely block from the impressive Jasper Moon got in the way of Mullin’s drive.

The home supporters fully invested in their side’s efforts in the first half and that added to the feeling that something might be in the air in Harrogate’s biggest cup occasion on home soil since Wrexham’s previous visit in front of a raucous crowd of almost 4,000.

The ability of the Town defence to cope with the pressure that their side would surely face on the resumption faced an early examination.

Thankfully, Wrexham’s profligacy continued with Andy Cannon blazing over after being afforded too much space on the right.

For Harrogate, it was about being ultra-committed in their defensive work, trying to keep the switch-offs to a minimum and waiting for something to happen on the counter or a set-play.

When they did lapse, Wrexham’s continued lack of killer instinct in front of goal was again their friend.

With the hosts stranded upfield and short of numbers, the visitors broke at pace with the ball eventually finding George Dobson, but Belshaw got his angles right to make a big save.

Harrogate waited for their moment on the break and it almost yielded a second goal with Duke-McKenna bursting forward at a rate of knots before cutting inside and firing a rasping drive narrowly wide.

Wrexham made changes, but the narrative didn’t change for their sakes with Jon Dadi Bodvarsson soon blasting another decent opportunity off target before fellow replacement James McClean saw his header flash wide.

The clock was starting to tick down for the Welsh outfit and when they did threaten the goal, they also had to get past Belshaw, who again showed his prowess by keeping out Bodvardsson’s downward volley.

Harrogate needed their leaders and they most definitely had one at the back in Anthony O’Connor with ex-Barnsley defender Jasper Moon being not far behind.

Wrexham did eventually find the net, courtesy of substitute Mo Faal, but the offside flag was instantly raised. It was that sort of day for them, with the Welsh outfit following up their League Cup exit at Sheffield United with another cup elimination in the county.

Harrogate Town: Belshaw; Asare, A O’Connor, Moon, Foulds; Taylor, Cornelius, Dooley, Duke-McKenna (J Daly 68); March (Folarin 68); Muldoon (Sutton 86). Substitutes unused: Bray, Burrell, Hetherington, Falkingham, Oxley, Robinson.

Wrexham: Okonkwo; Barnett, Cleworth, O’Connell, T O’Connor (Faal 75), Revan (McClean 59); Rathbone (Lee 59), Dobson, Cannon; Mullin, Palmer (Bodvarsson 59). Substitutes unused: Bolton, Boyle, Burton, James, Scarr.

Referee: E Duckworth (Lancs)