Harrogate Railway chief Mick O'Connell looking for more complete performances from his team

Harrogate Railway's players celebrate one of their five goals against Swallownest at the weekend. Picture: Craig Dinsdale

Last season’s beaten NCEL Division One play-off finalists made it two wins out of two for 2022/23 as goals from Oli Norman (2), Luke Stewart, Elliot Holmes and Joe Crosby fired them to a comprehensive victory at Station View.

But, O’Connell wasn’t overly impressed by what he saw from his Railway players, and insists that they must strive to try and deliver more complete performances.

“We completely dominated the second half and you can’t really complain about five goals and a clean-sheet, but I still think we can do better,” the Irishman told the Harrogate Advertiser.

“We were quite wasteful in the first half in terms of missing good chances and when it came to our final ball. We were impatient and didn’t keep possession very well.

“Second half, once we settled down, we were in full control, but we want to be delivering complete performances, not just playing well for 45 or 60 minutes.

“They are the standards we have set because you need to do that if you want to challenge again like we did last season.

“I think it shows how far we’ve come that we’re not happy with five goals and a clean-sheet, but I know the ability that these lads have and we have to keep demanding.”

Next up for the Rail is a trip to Armthorpe Welfare on Wednesday evening, 7.45pm kick-off.