Bromley 3 Harrogate Town 3: 'Streetwise' edge needed as three-goal lead is thrown away

Jack Emmett celebrates after giving Harrogate Town a 13th-minute lead at Bromley. Picture: Matt Kirkham

Strikes from Jack Emmett, Brendan Kiernan and a Jack Muldoon penalty put the Wetherby Road outfit 3-0 up inside 41 minutes against the team that began the weekend top of the National League standings.

Yet, Town had to settle for just a point in the end, and could have ended up empty-handed, were it not for the excellence of goalkeeper James Belshaw.

"The first 40 minutes were outstanding. We looked great every time we went forward and we defended well," Weaver reflected

“But, we were weak in response to them scoring their first and we have to get better.

“The component, in terms of what’s missing at the moment, is that streetwise edge, which to get over the line against teams such as these, has to be added to our game.

“We were on the back foot and we didn’t problem-solve. We’ve got lads who are still learning at this level, but they’ve got to learn fast if they want to accelerate and compete for that top-three place that we really want.

“We’ve got cracking lads and great energy, great pace, great passing ability, but we need to wise up a bit."

A 10-match unbeaten run propelled Town from lower mid-table and up into the National Legaue play-off places, however they are now winless in three despite taking the lead in each of these matches.

And, not for the first time, Saturday's clash with Bromley saw them begin struggle to once their opponents got their tails up.

“The last 12 games we’ve been immense at times, but within that there’s spells in games where we have to step up to the plate," he added.

“Momentum is a wonderful thing when it’s going your way. But when it’s going against you we have to be better at dealing with it.

“I wasn’t proud of the second-half performance by any stretch. Overall, it wasn’t good enough to get the win that we wanted.

"We put ourselves in a fabulous position, 3-0 up against the league leaders, and we’ve got to take advantage, but we were weak in certain areas and didn’t drive home the advantage.

“There were individuals who played great at times and individuals who will a lesson from it as well."

Victory would have lifted Harrogate to within two points of the National League summit, however their poor second-half showing means they stay seventh.