Colchester United's Tom Eastman pleased with Harrogate Town debut, but says Sutton United loss was 'tough to take'

The 31-year-old centre-half joined the Sulphurites on loan from Colchester United last week and made his first start for his new club during Saturday’s 1-0 League Two defeat.

A regular starter and four-time player of the season during his 12 years with the Essex side, Eastman has barely featured in recent months and so was delighted to be handed 90 minutes by Simon Weaver.

That delight was however tempered by the fact that Town finished up empty-handed at Wetherby Road, failing to recover from David Ajiboye’s eighth-minute opener.

“On a personal note, obviously it’s good to be back playing games because I haven’t started a game since the start of November,” Eastman told the Harrogate Advertiser.

"So it was good for me to get going, to play 90 minutes, and I thought I played quite well. On your home debut, you obviously want to give a good first impression.

“I really enjoyed it, particularly second half when we went to a back two with me and Ant [O’Connor] at the back.

“I know you could maybe say they sat off a little bit and we were on the front foot, but I thought we defended well as a two, and even as a three - apart from Sutton’s goal. We got a lot of blocks in, some tackles and we were fighting, so I enjoyed the game.

"So, on a personal note, I was pleased to be honest, but at the end of the day we’ve come away with no points and a loss which is tough to take.”

So poor was Town’s first-half showing that they could easily have been dead and buried by the interval, though having managed to stay in the game, an improved performance during the second 45 could easily have seen them finish up with a share of the spoils.

According to Eastman, the Sulphurites were “definitely the better team” after the break.

“First half we were poor, off the boil a little bit,” he added. “They started really well to be fair to them, created quite a few good chances, but to be fair to the boys, we hung in there.

“We didn’t start well. None of us could say we started well and at this level, against a team like this, you can’t afford to do this.

“Second half, there were a lot of changes, but we had a right go. We were definitely the better team and definitely could have snatched a late equaliser.

“We threw everything at them second half, but they threw bodies on the line and we just couldn’t get the breakthrough.

“We’ve got to take the second-half performance into the first half of the next game and start strong.”

Saturday’s loss sees Harrogate drop to 21st place in the League Two standings and leaves them just four points clear of the relegation zone.