Carlisle United 3 Harrogate Town 0: Simon Weaver 'embarrassed' as Sulphurites are humiliated by nine men

Simon Weaver said he was left “embarrassed” after seeing his Harrogate Town side achieve the unthinkable and find a way to lose 3-0 to a Carlisle United team who played with nine men for more than an hour.

The Cumbrians took a 10th-minute lead in Wednesday evening’s National League clash through Josh Williams, but then had Miguel Azeez and Harvey Bunker sent off before the half-hour mark.

Despite that significant numerical advantage, the Sulphurites failed to find a way to break down their hosts, and somehow even managed to concede two more goals after the interval.

The scandalously poor nature of Town’s performance on the night is made all the more difficult to fathom given how well they have been playing in recent weeks, and the fact that they came into the game off the back of five consecutive league victories.

But, Weaver felt that his players came up short in all areas, and also conceded that his substitutions and tactical changes failed to make the required impact.

“I am embarrassed,” the Harrogate boss said. “We were given an opportunity because of the two sending-offs early in the game to put in a really convincing display and continue the form of the last six matches, where we have been brilliant.

“Football can throw you a bit of a curve ball at times, but I’m very surprised by the poor performance on the night. We were below par on every level.

“We didn’t get the balance right. We wanted to dominate the ball and wear them out. They went down to 10 men, then nine, but we didn’t take advantage of that.

“Even in a training session, or in any game of football, you should have enough numbers [against nine men] to dominate the ball, but we showed no composure at all.

“Of course I will beat myself up and take full responsibility for the changes that I made, which didn’t turn out to be positives ones because we have lost the game 3-0. We have got to be better, it’s as simple as that.”

Even after Callum Whelan doubled the home lead just seconds into the second half, there should still have been sufficient time for Town to have found a way to get themselves some kind of a result at Brunton Park.

But, they laboured in possession and, having over-committed in the Carlisle half, were caught on the counter-attack as Ryan Galvin ran half the length of the pitch to make it 3-0 on 61 minutes.

And Weaver had to concede that his team simply did not show anywhere near enough “quality” over the course of the 90 minutes.

“I was disappointed with the performance more than the outcome, to be honest. We were well off it,” he added.

“But they had a couple of players sent off and we had every advantage going for us, but you’ve got to show the required quality and have your moment in front of goal.

“I don’t think we showed enough arrogance on the ball, actually, and I’m surprised by the lack of confidence in the second half to really take the game to them.

“The play was to side-to-side and too slow. When we did put balls into the box, it was cannoning off the side of people’s heads, and there was not enough ability on show inside the box.”

Town remain second in the National League standings despite Tuesday’s defeat, but now find themselves 10 points behind top-of-the-table Boreham Wood.