Harrogate Town 0 Colchester United 0: Simon Weaver 'satisfied' with a point and a clean-sheet
Simon Weaver declared himself “satisfied” with a point and a clean-sheet after his Harrogate Town side played out a goalless draw at home to Colchester United.
The Sulphurites shaded a largely drab League Two contest on a difficult pitch, carrying more of a threat over the course of the 90 minutes without quite doing enough to win the match.
Dean Cornelius and Ellis Taylor were narrowly off target with well-struck efforts, while Josh March missed a difficult one-on-one chance, shortly before Bryn Morris forced visiting custodian Matt Macey into the save of the game with a stinging free-kick.
But Weaver had no problem conceding that Tuesday was a night where defences were on top, and went on to compliment both his own players and the opposition on their work without the ball.
"Overall, I am satisfied,” he said. “We set out to get the three points, but both defences had to be admired tonight. Colchester were very difficult to break down, and we were too.
"We are pleased with another clean-sheet, that’s our third on the bounce, which is good at this level and a big step forwards. We were hard to beat, full of energy, we pressed high and we were aggressive.
"I thought that we were terrific and that’s a continuation again [from recent games], so I’m proud of the players. As a back unit, we look top drawer for this level at the minute. We’ve been very miserly.
"We wish that we had been a bit more creative in the final third and shown a bit more end product, but you’ve got to give credit to Colchester. They were well-organised and well-drilled, so fair play to them."
With rain falling steadily and the Exercise Stadium playing surface badly cut up before the game had even kicked-off, conditions were far from conducive to flowing football.
Both sides appeared content to build attacks slowly while playing low-risk football, though it was Town who had the better of the opening period.
It took until the 26th minute for anything resembling a moment of excitement to materialise, Cornelius taking aim from 20 yards out and rifling a shot into the side-netting with Colchester stopper Macey scrambling.
Four minutes later, the hosts threatened again when James Daly dragged an effort wide of the far post after being gifted possession by Lyle Taylor’s sloppy pass deep inside his own half.
The visitors offered virtually nothing as an attacking force until the last couple of minutes of the half, Jack Payne seeing an effort blocked by Morris following an Owura Edwards burst down the left flank.
Payne was then crowded out after the U’s got the ball to him in a dangerous position inside the Town box, with the half-time whistle sounding soon afterwards.
Colchester began the second period with much greater intensity, but it was Harrogate who created the first decent opportunity after the break.
A swift counter-attack saw Jack Muldoon play a nicely-weighted pass in behind for strike partner March to sprint on to and poke beyond Macey but wide of the far post.
March was then denied a clear run on goal when he was brought down by Tom Flanagan just outside the box as he attempted to burst between the U’s centre-half and team-mate Ellis Iandolo.
Morris lined up the resulting free-kick and was only denied the opening goal by a smart save from Macey, who pushed his fierce shot away for a corner.
At the other end, Harry Anderson cracked an effort into the side-netting from the right-hand edge of the penalty area before Fiacre Kelleher nodded Mandela Egbo’s cross over the top.
Another rapid break upfield then saw Town threaten again, substitute Taylor narrowly off target with a swerving first-time effort from March’s lay-off.
And that was about as close as either side would come to fashioning a clear-cut chance to decide the contest, despite things becoming a little more stretched in the closing stages.
Having looked the more likely for the majority of the evening, Town began to drop deeper and deeper during the final minutes, and were required to defend their box stoutly as Colchester enjoyed a brief spell of pressure at the death.
Tuesday’s result lifts Harrogate up to 17th in the League Two standings, where they now sit nine points clear of the relegation zone, albeit having played two games more than both 23rd-placed Morecambe and rock-bottom Carlisle.