Boreham Wood FC v Harrogate Town: Sulphurites told to 'keep doing what you've been doing'

The Sulphurites face arguably their biggest test of 2026/27 this weekend when they travel to Hertfordshire to take on the early-season pacesetters and a side well fancied to go on and win the title.

Town head south fresh off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to AFC Flyde in midweek, a loss which ended a run of three consecutive victories.

But, Weaver’s new-look team dominated that game for long periods and played well enough to have come out on top, so despite being disappointed with the outcome, he is urging his troops to deliver more of the same on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s been important to tell the players just to keep doing what you’ve been doing in training because you are preparing well for games and performing tremendously well,” the Harrogate chief told BBC Radio York.

"We are talking about fine tuning eight games into the season. We have got a really big test on Saturday away from home, but we are only four points off the top of the league. It’s not too drastic.

“We’ve brought in 18 new players. As a brand-new new group, they couldn’t have forged an understanding any better than they have in this short period of time. I think we can be really excited by the progress made already.

“They are a delight to manage and to work with every day. Their reaction to disappointment is always spot on and we are working endlessly, to try to keep getting better and better.”

Weaver’s only real complaint after Tuesday’s loss to Fylde was that his attacking players were not sharp enough in front of goal, meaning that long periods of possession and territorial dominance went unrewarded.

But, he wants his players to park any lingering disappointment and focus on the positives moving forwards.

“There are things that we all could have done better, I am sure,” the Town boss added. “But, I think that the vast proportion of the decisions that the players made – and the courage they showed – would have won games at this level, and scored a few goals.

"Of course we will look to do better in front of goal, but it won’t be for the want of trying.

"But, it is gone now. We’ve got to handle that disappointment, but also be excited about the future.”

Top-of-the-table Boreham Wood head into Saturday’s fixture boasting an unbeaten record so far this term having won six and drawn two of their opening eight matches.

Luke Garrard’s men won 2-1 away at Scunthorpe in midweek after being held to a 1-1 draw by Eastleigh last weekend.

They have won both of their previous two matches on home soil following on from a 3-3 draw with Tamworth on the opening day of the season.

Like Town, Wood have scored 19 goals already, and Weaver knows that getting the balance right in terms of his game-plan will be key to his team’s chances of coming away with a result.

"We are looking forward to the next challenge, which is a big challenge with Boreham Wood,” he continued.

"The press is important and the organisation has to be right. There has been evidence in the games I have seen that Boreham Wood can hurt you if you allow them to do what they want.

"So, we plan to have an athletic team out there and one that is capable of covering the ground, because we will need to.

"We want to set the team up to handle the way they play, but it can’t just be about counter-attacking. That’s one element, but it’s also about us having control too.”