Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver issues apology to fans after 'awful game of football' against Barrow

The Sulphurites failed to find second gear against the Bluebirds, serving up a laboured performance at the Exercise Stadium.

Neo Eccleston’s second-half header put Barrow ahead and it was not until the dying embers that Harrogate showed signs of life.

Despite a flurry of late chances, Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman kept the hosts at bay and allowed the visitors to leave with three points.

Weaver said: “I thought we were good for the last six minutes. For the first 84, I thought we served up a lot of dross really. I can only apologise to the fans, it was an awful game of football, and we lost it on a particularly poor goal. I’m disappointed, I feel like we let people down.”

The defeat was Harrogate’s third on home turf of the 2024/25 season. Home form has previously proven problematic for the North Yorkshire side, who have picked up four points from their opening four games.

Weaver paid tribute to the support of fans as he called on his players to show more at their home ground.

He said: “I expected a lot more from our team. From our point of view, we didn’t excite, we didn’t pass the ball. We’ve had a go there about the lack of consistency. It seems to be more at home where lads shrivel under the pressure. It’s hardly the San Siro.

“To be fair to our home fans, as soon as we’re putting balls into the box, and getting strikes on goal in the last few minutes, they’re right behind us. Since we’ve been in the Football League, we haven’t performed well enough as a home team. We need to show from week-to-week we can do repeat performances.”