Escape from League Two drop zone two provides injury-ravaged Harrogate Town with a timely 'boost'
Simon Weaver says that Harrogate Town’s escape from the League Two drop zone has handed his players with a timely “boost” heading into the busy festive period.
Conor McAleny’s 80th-minute penalty earned the struggling Sulphurites a 1-1 draw at Cheltenham on Saturday, with that point sufficient to lift them one place to 22nd in the table.
They may only have edged ahead of Bristol Rovers on goal difference, but after a couple of weeks in the bottom two, the Town boss knows that climbing just one position will still make a significant psychological difference to his injury-ravaged squad.
“Whilst it is a fine margin, the distance between us and the bottom two, at least we have leapt up one place and when we go to bed, that will feel better mentally,” Weaver told BBC Radio York.
"It is a good boost for us because it has been a couple of weeks. It hurts you, seeing it whenever you look at the table. We are all very aware of the job in hand but at least there is a little bit of respite for the next six days.
"But we have to build on it, and this is going to be a big second half of the season. We are fighting, and we are showing good signs of playing football on the deck but need a couple back and we need to strengthen where we possibly can.”
Town travelled to Cheltenham winless in their previous nine League Two outings, and missing no fewer than nine senior professionals through injury.
But, they had the better of the first half and saw an early Anthony O’Connor ‘goal’ controversially ruled out by referee Michael Barlow before Reece Smith and Jack Muldoon drew important saves out of Robins custodian Joe Day.
And it was rather against the run of play when the visitors fell behind on 73 minutes as substitute Jake Bickerstaff tapped into an empty net after his initial strike came back off a post.
Harrogate would however respond well, and after Muldoon was brought down inside the box by Cheltenham skipper James Wilson, McAleny calmly sent Day the wrong way from 12 yards.
“Conor was cooler than I would have been, that’s for sure,” Weaver said of his player’s penalty conversion.
“It was a big moment for the football club, and he’ll have known that as a player, will Conor. The pressure was on his shoulders, but he finished it calmly.
“And I thought that his was a great individual performance as well, in and out of possession. He was a constant threat.”
Harrogate return to action this Saturday when they entertain MK Dons before they go on to play four games in the space of 10 days, starting with a home clash against Salford City on Boxing Day.