Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver hoping to capitalise on thrilling shootout win

Already riding the crest of a wave, newly-promoted Harrogate Town will take plenty of encouragement from their Carabao Cup win at Tranmere Rovers, says manager Simon Weaver.
History man: Harrogate Town's Lloyd Kerry (left) scored the club's first goal as a Football League side. Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire.History man: Harrogate Town's Lloyd Kerry (left) scored the club's first goal as a Football League side. Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire.
History man: Harrogate Town's Lloyd Kerry (left) scored the club's first goal as a Football League side. Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire.

With last month’s glorious Wembley triumph over Notts County still fresh in the memory, the National League play-off winners are sure to approach their debut campaign as a League Two club buoyed significantly by the nature of Saturday’s penalty shoot-out success on the Wirral.

The Wetherby Road outfit looked the more fluent of the sides and played the better football for large periods. They responded well to falling a goal behind against the run of play, then dug deep to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat during a thrilling and seemingly endless sequence of spot-kicks.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Penalties are, of course, something of a lottery, though it was the fact that they looked completely at home throughout the 90 minutes that preceded the shoot-out that bodes so well for Weaver and his men.

Impressed: Harrogate Town manager Simon WeaverImpressed: Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver
Impressed: Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver

Two tiers separated Rovers and Harrogate in 2019/20, though if you didn’t know which of the teams were playing their football in League One last term, it wouldn’t have been obvious based on what unfolded out on the pitch at Prenton Park.

A glance at the team-sheets might have given it away, with Tranmere boasting two big names at League Two level in the shape of ex-Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing and former Everton striker James Vaughan. Harrogate, though, were undaunted, and good value for their place in round two where they will visit top-flight West Bromwich Albion.

“We deserved the win, we started well and finished well against a big club, some experienced players,” Weaver said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“When we kept the ball and fizzed it about with pace we did cause them problems, we just needed to execute that final finish a bit better.

“Tranmere finished on the back foot, it was just a shame that we couldn’t add to the goal-tally, but overall it was a good performance, full of passion. I’m very pleased.

“I think we’ll take a lot of confidence from this. We were up against some pretty high-profile players and I haven’t seen any gulf in class, so I think we can be proud when we’ve got lads experiencing things for the first time.

“We’ve just got to build on this result now. It’s another big positive to take into the next couple of games. The momentum was strong already, and we need to enjoy that, but at the same time we can’t afford to take our foot off the pedal.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There was little in the first half of Saturday’s game, though Harrogate shaded it without managing to seriously test home custodian Scott Davies.

Tranmere began the second period in the ascendancy, but it was the visitors who came closest to breaking the deadlock through a curling Jack Muldoon effort, which fully extended Davies.

With Town seemingly building a head of steam, they were then hit by a 62nd-minute sucker punch at the other end as Vaughan – still the youngest goal-scorer in Premier League history – seized on Ryan Fallowfield’s under-hit back-pass, coolly rounded Joe Cracknell and slid the ball into an empty net.

The response to that set-back was however impressive, and having immediately got back on the front foot, Harrogate levelled matters on 69 minutes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It was Lloyd Kerry who netted his team’s first-ever goal as a Football League club, picking up George Thomson’s pass inside and benefiting from a fortunate ricochet before beating Davies at his near post with a left-footed strike from the edge of the box.

With the contest opening up a little in the closing stages, Town survived a couple of spills of the ball by Cracknell before going on to finish very much on top.

Muldoon planted an effort narrowly over the bar following an incisive burst forward by centre-half Will Smith, then Josh Falkingham’s 25-yarder drew another fine diving save from Davies.

The visitors continued to turn the screw, delivering a number of late crosses into the box, but were unable to find a finishing touch, and with 90 minutes up, the match went to penalties.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With the scores tied at 7-7 in an enthralling shoot-out which saw Cracknell produce fine saves, it was eventually left to skipper Falkingham to step up and fire Harrogate into the next round and on towards yet another historic first.

Tranmere: Davies; O’Connor, Clarke, Monthe, MacDonald; Khan, Lewis (Banks 63), Spearing, Blackett-Taylor (Morris 42); Vaughan, Ferrier (Payne 61). Unused substitutes: Murphy, Ridehalgh, Nelson, Ellis.

Harrogate: Cracknell; Fallowfield, Smith, Hall, Burrell; Thomson, Falkingham, Kerry, Walker (Stead 73); Martin (Beck 82), Muldoon. Unused substitutes: Emmett, Kiernan, Kirby, Lokko.

Referee: T Nield (West Yorkshire).

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.