How Harrogate Town banished ghosts of Carlisle United with 4-0 rout of Altrincham - analysis
A deep dive into Harrogate Town’s 4-0 National League win over Altrincham
When Altrincham defender Reuben Lopata-White lunged in on Harrogate Town winger Ellis Taylor, there will have been two shivers down the spines of the home supporters.
The first one being the natural one, brought on by the reckless nature of the loaned-out Leeds United prospect’s foul. The second will have been prompted by the dawning realisation of what comes next.
Harrogate have not had the best of times against 10-man sides and lost 3-0 to a Carlisle United side who saw two men sent off less than three weeks ago.
Halloween has been and gone, but the ghosts of Carlisle threatened to haunt when the red card was brandished on the 13-minute mark.
Harrogate Town find a way to use numerical advantage
“I think everyone in the stadium thought that [it was going to be a struggle],” said Harrogate boss Simon Weaver. “[Altrincham] probably, ultimately, were buoyed by the fact that it didn't go our way the last time.
“It's not a case of sulking and berating everyone when it just didn't work on that occasion, but are we capable of next time, especially against a really good team like Altrincham, carrying out our roles a bit better?”
To say Harrogate carried out their roles a bit better would be an understatement. The strong Sulphurite grip on the game rarely loosened as they cruised to an emphatic 4-0 win.
It took until the second half but once the hosts started firing on all cylinders in the final third, the afternoon raced away from the Robins.
Will McGowan drew first blood shortly after the restart and Morgan Williams pounced merely 10 minutes later.
Pressure continued to be applied and the advantage was built upon by Michael Craig and Rohan Vaughan, who both hammered home thunderous strikes.
Ellis Taylor may not have etched his name on the scoresheet but the Marcy Fitness Stadium became his playground, one in which he toyed with defenders with relative ease.
Patient probing
“We still had to be very patient,” said Weaver. “[We had] to really break through and put the game to bed.
“We did in the end and that's what mattered and a growing maturity I thought the lads showed today.
“You’ve got to kill off the hope, kill off the energy and psychologically I think the best way of doing it is to keep the ball and keep probing and not get flustered ourselves.”
Boreham Wood have steamed away at the top of the National League table but it remains early days. Harrogate reduced the gap between the sides to 10 points and will be keen to keep chipping away.
As for the ghosts of Carlisle - consider them banished.
“I think we've got a really good, honest group,” said Weaver. “There’s blips on the journey of every team but 18 new players and people are handling disappointments well, people aren't getting over the top or egotistical when we bang a few goals in.
“They want to play and they want to play in the right way but not play boring football. We’ve got a proud record at home.”
Harrogate Town: Hutchinson, Dreyer, Baptistie, Horton; Cass (Payne 87), Williams, Craig, Taylor; (Vaughan 87) Hmami (McGuckin 86), McGowan (Thomson 82); McCoulsky (Dolaghan 77)
Unused substitutes: Watson, Burrell.
Altrincham: Isted, Banks, Lopata-White, Cooper, Weaver (Breckin 82), Taylor; Kosylo, Raymond (Barnes 24)Crawford; Barlow (Kirk 82), Khan (Hinchy 85).
Unused substitutes: Firth, Jones, Dennis.
Referee: James Oldham (Derbyshire)