From the Terraces: Surely fans can now be assured of having EFL football to watch next season

A limited number of spectators were permitted entry to watch Harrogate Town's December fixtures against Forest Green Rovers, Salford City and Carlisle United. Pictures: Matt Kirkham

It had been a goalless first half devoid of quality. Even Town had struggled to put two passes together, and the ball was giving a very good impression of a hot potato.

For all Simon Weaver’s incisive words post-Scunthorpe at the weekend, when he spoke about creating a little more time and composure on the ball, nothing much seemed to have changed.

Mansfield had created the better of the openings, playing with the wind, and Nigel Clough will have told them to keep it tight right after half time.

Harrogate Town players celebrate after taking a 1-0 lead against Mansfield Town in midweek.

‘I’m all in favour of mixing it up and keeping your opponents guessing, but … the long ball routine straight from kick-off, as a statement of intent, just isn’t working.’

These were my words in these very pages just under two years ago.

The thing is, at the time, I just couldn’t see any use in banging the ball straight away to an opponent in their own half, before anyone had a chance to get up there to challenge.

Barely 10 seconds into the second half last night, it was 1-0 to Town, via a long-ball routine straight from kick-off, and I was left to eat my own words. This time though, we played the conditions very well.

Six players tore into the opposing half, as the swirling wind carried Connor Hall’s punt high into the penalty area.

Two defenders, not yet used to the new conditions, struggled to get distance and direction on their headed clearances and, in the one moment of decisive quality as the ball dropped, Aaron Martin caressed a first-time volley into the corner of the net from the edge of the area. And that was that.

BBC Radio York commentator Barry Parker nailed it halfway through the first half, stating that it looked like being a very tight game with maybe just the one goal in it.

Back in December, it would have been our visitors scoring that only goal. Now, Harroate have found a run of long-overdue home form, making the visitors pay for their one mistake, before seeing the second 45 out fairly comfortably.

Post-match, Weaver was promising us a possible exciting end to the season. I certainly hope so, as six points off the play-offs isn’t a bad place to be for a team that’s starting to learn to win.

With football supporters potentially being allowed back into stadiums from May 17, and our normal season scheduled to end on May 8, it’s now fairly certain that we’ll be seeing no more live football this season, unless we can get into the aforementioned play-offs. Now there’s a thought …

Perhaps most importantly, Town have opened up a 15-point gap to the bottom two, which means that if the country can keep Covid-19 at bay, and there’s certainly no guarantee of that, fans have a good chance of watching their team in the Football League next season in some form.

There’s also the small matter of an outstanding FA Trophy Final, so I live in hope that we can get to see that in the flesh. How it’s all going to work, when they’re in the latter stages of this season’s competition too, is anyone’s guess.

Will the winners of Town vs Concord Rangers get to keep the Trophy for a day and then have to pass it over to the winners of this year’s competition?!

Of course, we’ve all been here before, having dared to hope to watch League Two matches in the flesh this season. Apart from a slight return, those hopes were dashed, but you have to remain hopeful.

I’m writing this column having just come back from a short visit to the Showground for my first Covid-19 jab. The whole thing is so well organised, and I can’t thank the NHS staff and volunteers enough for what they’re doing.

Whilst chatting to the staff nurse, Denise, I casually asked if they were doing hair-cuts in the 15 minutes post-injection too, my lockdown hair being in mortal danger of attracting nesting birds if I pause for too long in the woods.

She replied that a photographer from the Harrogate Advertiser had been down there yesterday, and her instant reaction on being asked to pose for a photograph was, “Not until I’ve had my hair done.”

If only I’d employed that tactic when posing for the picture at the top of this page. Come to think of it, I had a lockdown-hairdo pre-Covid-19, so who am I trying to kid?