Harrogate Town 0 Walsall FC 2: Sulphurites serve up another feeble performance
Harrogate Town demonstrated exactly why they have not won a League Two fixture in two months as they served up yet another feeble performance on their way to a 2-0 defeat to Walsall.
For the third home league game in succession, the struggling Sulphurites were beaten without managing score a goal, leaving them winless in seven attempts.
And they can have absolutely no complaints about the outcome of the contest after failing to even come close to laying a glove on their promotion-chasing visitors.
As far as away victories go in the Football League, this was as easy as it gets for the Saddlers, who headed into Saturday’s match having lost three of their previous four, yet looked utterly comfortable and in control throughout.
If alarm bells weren’t already ringing at Wetherby Road following a run of results which had seen them take just one point from a possible 18, they certainly will be after this display by a team that looks completely devoid of belief and ideas.
And, to compound matters, Cheltenham’s win at home to Bristol Rovers later in the day saw Harrogate drop to 23rd place and into the relegation zone.
The game’s first opening materialised in the ninth minute when Walsall’s Ryan Finnigan was able to drive unopposed to the edge of the home box and drew a good save from the stretching James Belshaw.
In truth, Town never really threatened during the opening period, though Levi Sutton did see an acrobatic effort deflected wide after Anthony O’Connor had nodded Jacob Slater’s free-kick into his path.
At the other end, Harrogate were again indebted to Belshaw, who once again got down low to make a fine stop to keep out Charlie Lakin’s sweetly-struck effort.
From the resulting corner, Finnigan managed to bundle the ball over the line after O’Connor had blocked Daniel Kanu’s close-range strike, though the latter was adjudged to have handled the ball in the process of shooting at goal.
Sutton then cleared the cross-bar as a long Jack Muldoon throw-in dropped for him inside the away box, though his attempt was never troubling Walsall custodian Myles Roberts.
Disaster then struck for Town in the 43rd minute when they conceded the kind of goal that evidenced exactly why they are struggling so much at this moment in time.
A Belshaw punt forwards was repelled and with Warren Burrell seemingly in no man’s land, it was all too easy for Jamille Matt to release Kanu in behind.
The on-loan Charlton Athletic striker won a foot-race with O’Connor, then turned the covering Burrell inside out before beating Belshaw with a clinical, low finish into the far corner.
The second period saw toothless Town enjoy slightly more territory and ask a few more questions of their visitors, however it was far from an uncomfortable 45 minutes for the Black Country outfit.
Sutton’s deflected strike forced Aden Flint to hack clear in front of his own goal, and a cross-cum-shot from Shawn McCoulsky eventually drew something resembling a meaningful save from Roberts.
But with the hosts’ game-plan seemingly revolving around launching hopeful long balls and crosses into the final third, clear-cut chances were never likely to arrive.
Walsall did not carry too much threat themselves, though Belshaw was still required to make good stops from substitute Brandon Comley’s curling effort from distance, then Courtney Clarke’s close-range blast.
The most routine of away-day victories was then sewn up in the 87th minute when Priestley Farquharson was able to get away from Muldoon and nod Finnigan’s left-wing corner beyond Belshaw from six yards out.