Harrogate Town 0 Bromley FC 0: Sulphurites push League Two leaders all the way

The relegation-threatened Sulphurites had to settle for a goalless draw in the end, but did enough to have won Saturday’s game having bossed matters for long periods.

And, while they remain second from bottom of the pile, Simon Weaver’s men are now unbeaten in four matches having taken eight points from the last 12 on offer.

Town belied their lowly league position for the vast majority of the contest and made most of the running during the first half as they delivered one of their most impressive home performances of the season to date.

Defenders Chanse Headman and Cathal Heffernan both saw headers saved by Grant Smith in the Bromley goal, before Jack Evans had a go at breaking the deadlock as the interval approached.

And the table-toppers required a huge block from Jude Arthurs to prevent Ellis Taylor from firing Harrogate ahead on the follow up after that initial Evans effort had been parried into his path.

Despite arriving in North Yorkshire on a 14-game unbeaten run and off the back of six victories in their previous seven away outings, the Ravens struggled to make any real impact in the final third in the opening period.

Michael Cheek did drag an effort wide of the mark from the edge of the box, though that was about all the South-East Londoners had to offer.

Harrogate picked up where they had left off after half-time as on-loan Wigan Athletic midfielder Tobias Brenan curled an effort narrowly the wrong side of the upright.

Reece Smith then went closer still with a strike that hit a post, while Taylor also came close when he nutmegged a defender before forcing Grant Smith into a good save from an acute angle.

After a period of what was almost one-way traffic moving in the direction of the away goal, things did began to even up a little bit during the latter stages, with Bromley starting to ask a few questions of Town on the counter-attack.

Nicke Kabamba headed into the side-netting, while Mitch Pinnock saw a couple of shots blocked by Sulphurites defenders, before Ben Thompson was thwarted by home custodian Henry Gray.

But, it would have been a travesty had Andy Woodman’s title-hopefuls snatched the spoils, with a point and a second clean-sheet in as many matches the very least that Town deserved.

Saturday’s result, combined with Barrow’s 3-2 defeat at Fleetwood, means that Harrogate now sit just a point shy of 22nd place, and sit two ahead of bottom side Newport.