'Least we deserved': Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver happy to break December curse at Fleetwood

Harrogate goalkeeper James Belshaw saved a last-minute penalty to secure a 1-1 draw and deny Pete Wild victory in his first game in charge of Fleetwood.

Belshaw denied Phoenix Patterson from 12 yards at the death, after Josh March’s goal had cancelled out James Bolton’s early opener.

Fleetwood made the perfect start to Wild’s tenure through Bolton, who found the net with just a minute on the clock. Patterson’s corner was sent to the back post, where Bolton sneaked in to finish at close range.

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Harrogate hit back, however, cancelling out the hosts’ lead after eight minutes. A curling free-kick from Stephen Duke-McKenna was met by the unmarked March and his glancing header went beyond the reach of Cod Army keeper Jay Lynch.

Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver. (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver. (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver. (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

Patterson had the chance to score a 90th-minute winner from the penalty spot after he had been sent tumbling in the box, but Belshaw guessed correctly and pulled off a vital save.

Harrogate manager Simon Weaver was delighted to take a point home after five straight defeats in December.

“I thought the point was the least we deserved,” he said.

“With a penalty in the last few minutes and with the run we’ve been on, it would have been bitterly disappointing to have lost a game that I thought we performed well in.

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“In the last three games now, I think we’ve shown up well against tough opponents and we’re showing that we’re trying to do things the right way, trying to pass the ball and play our way through and, at times we did create some good opportunities that, with a bit more confidence, we normally dispatch.

“But today was about stopping the rot and I’m proud of my players. We know that Fleetwood are a lively, youthful team and you look at the credentials of their midfield, there’s a lot of League One games between them, they were in League One last year.

“It was all about resilience today and showing that we can bounce back. Big players come with big moments and that’s what happened with Belly (Belshaw). We’re down to the bare bones but we stick together.

“You learn a lot about people when you’re up against it and the odds are against you but we like to prove people wrong by sticking together and it’s about pals bailing out other pals if something goes wrong in a game. A point was the least we deserved.”

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