Doncaster Rovers 0 Harrogate Town 1: Jack Muldoon fires Sulphurites to yet another opening-day win

The veteran Sulphurites striker netted from 12 yards 20 minutes into the second period to earn his side a deserved 1-0 victory in South Yorkshire, their fourth success in as many opening-day outings since their promotion to League Two in 2020.

Saturday’s curtain-raiser saw Simon Weaver hand debuts to summer signings Rod McDonald, Lewis Gibson, Dean Cornelius, James Daly and Abraham Odoh, but the absence of striker Luke Armstrong was the most notable thing about the visitors’ starting line-up.

Last season’s 16-goal leading scorer ‘made himself unavailable for selection’ with clubs in both Leagues One and Two seemingly having unsettled the ex-Middlesbrough forward with transfer bids lodged in the lead up to the game.

Yet, despite being without the focal point of their attack, it was Harrogate who had the better of the opening period and created the first clear opening of the afternoon on 12 minutes.

Debutant McDonald strode forward from defence and played Muldoon in on goal, however his effort was well saved by the advancing Ian Lawlor, who then got down to keep out Sam Folarin as Town kept the attack alive.

Nine minutes later, McDonald created another goal-scoring opportunity, but on this occasion it came at the wrong end of the pitch.

The experienced centre-half failed to get enough on his attempted header back to Mark Oxley, but with just the onrushing Sulphurites goalkeeper to beat, Luke Molyneux lifted his finish over the cross-bar.

That moment aside, Town continued to shade proceedings, with Cornelius and Gibson particularly impressive in the centre of the park.

Cornelius forced Lawlor to fist away one well-struck effort following a 36th-minute Harrogate corner, but sights of goal were few and far between during the closing stages of the first half.

Doncaster wasted little time in trying to force the issue after the break, Tommy Rowe creating a glorious opportunity for Jon Taylor to break the deadlock on 52 minutes, only for Matty Foulds to slide in and effect a fine goal-line clearance.

It was however the visitors who would register the game’s opening goal in the 66th minute, Abraham Odoh drawing a foul from Joseph Oluwu inside the Rovers box having led a solo counter-attack deep into home territory.

Muldoon, who took Armstrong’s place as Town’s centre-forward, shouldered responsibility from 12 yards, and although Lawlor went the right way, the spot-kick had sufficient power to beat his dive.

With Doncaster seeking a way back into the contest, Oxley was forced into his first meaningful save of the contest with less than 15 minutes of the regulation 90 remaining as he expertly pushed away Owen Bailey’s header following Deji Sotona’s flick from a George Broadbent cross.

Harrogate could however have wrapped up the three points when substitute Matty Daly engineered himself a shooting opportunity with some neat footwork, drawing an important stop from Lawlor.

At the other end, former Town loanee Jack Senior sent a bouncing volley narrowly wide before a staggering 14 minutes of stoppage-time were added on by the match officials.

The Sulphurites negotiated them well, however, preventing their hosts from ever really looking like grabbing a late leveller.

There was one heart-in-mouth moment for Weaver when Tyler Roberts went down in the box under a Toby Sims challenge, but that was about as uncomfortable as it got for Harrogate, who held out to extend their 100 percent opening-day record as a Football League club.