'Fantastic' Joe Mattock serves up reminder of his quality during Harrogate Town's victory at Mansfield Town

Joe Mattock provided Simon Weaver with a reminder of the quality he possesses on his first Harrogate Town start in three months.
Joe Mattock congratulates Matty Daly on his 39th-minute strike put Harrogate Town 2-0 up against Mansfield Town. Pictures: Brody PattisonJoe Mattock congratulates Matty Daly on his 39th-minute strike put Harrogate Town 2-0 up against Mansfield Town. Pictures: Brody Pattison
Joe Mattock congratulates Matty Daly on his 39th-minute strike put Harrogate Town 2-0 up against Mansfield Town. Pictures: Brody Pattison

The 32-year-old replaced Anthony O’Connor at centre-half and served up a rock-solid performance as the Sulphurites upset promotion-chasing Mansfield at the weekend.

The former England Under-21 defender last kicked a ball in anger at the end of January during a 1-0 home defeat to Sutton United and has had to wait patiently on the sidelines due to the form of winter transfer window arrivals O’Connor and Tom Eastman.

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But, Mattock showed no signs of rust, playing a key role as Town’s back-line withstood a serious amount of pressure to leave Field Mill with a 2-1 victory.

Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver at Field Mill.Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver at Field Mill.
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver at Field Mill.

"With Joe not playing for quite some time, I just wanted to have a look at him with only a couple of games left,” Weaver explained. “I thought that it was the right time to drop him in and to give Ant a rest.

“He was fantastic, he gave us a nice balance with his left foot, made some vital interventions, won some important headers.

"When his heart is pumping he is hard to beat, isn’t he. He was up for it today.

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"With it being a big-game atmosphere we backed him. He’s got ability. It’s been a long time for him waiting patiently in the wings, but what I will say is that he has done extra sessions, worked really hard and so I felt that he was prepared, so full credit to him."

That Town were able to rest O’Connor, who has delivered a string of quality performances since signing from Morecambe in January, owed much to the fact that they secured their League Two status for another season by beating Newport County in midweek.

But, the fact that one of their most influential players was not missed suggests that Harrogate now boast a little bit of strength in depth within their squad.

“I think it’s a good sign,” Weaver added.

"I think we’ve got a bit more depth in certain positions, a lot more depth than at the start of the season when we had injuries and we weren’t quite strong enough anyway.

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"I feel that now, you turn around and look at our bench and you think ‘ooh, it’s strong’. It’s a good League Two bench now.

"That’s where we want to head, a strong squad, players who can not just fill in and make a fist of it, but players who can come in and be outstanding, and Joe was today, without a doubt.”