Harrogate Town 1 Fleetwood Town 2: Sulphurites need to 'police' their own penalty area 'better'

League Two's bottom club are now winless in 18 matches following Tuesday night's painful 2-1 home loss to managerless Fleetwood.

But they could, and perhaps should, have gone on to end that embarrassingly long sequence of games without a victory having taken control of proceedings following Aiden Marsh's superb 81st-minute equaliser.

They were however undone in stoppage time as the visitors managed to score what proved to be the game's decisive goal from what was their only real chance in the entirety of the second half.

Having fallen behind in time added on at the end of the first period when it was all too easy for Ched Evans to climb above Cathal Heffernan and finish Callum Powell's left-wing cross, Harrogate will be equally disappointed with the nature of Fleetwood's winner.

Chanse Headman lost his footing as he attempted to cut out Ethan Ennis' cross from the left before Heffernan stuck out a leg on the edge of his own six-yard box, presenting the ball to Matty Virtue, who span and shot beyond Mark Oxley.

"We have got some lads at the back who are new to this level and are learning, but it is stoppage time in both halves and we have got to make sure that, as a defensive group, we police our area better," Weaver told BBC Radio York.

"We conceded the first one when we were down to 10 men because Jack Evans was off the field because he'd been elbowed in the face. But we have still got to deal with it and we have still got to be better in those moments and have that 'what if?' mentality.

"We have to learn to police our area and snuff things out before they happen, it's not just about being reactive in the box.

"Chanse slipped as he retreated, and whether that has caught us by surprise, their player and he has half-volleyed it and we are dealt the harshest of blows.

"We need to be in line so that if someone does slip, and the ball is put in, another player is goal side of their man, and they don't have enough room to spin on the half turn and strike it in.

"It was a great finish from their lad, as it was from [Gillingham's] Sam Voakes at the weekend. But there are moments where we can get a little bit tighter."

Although they once again ended up empty-handed, Town did serve up a more encouraging performance on the whole, and finally managed to actually score a goal in front of their own fans.

New signing Marsh’s eye-catching first-time finish from a difficult angle ended a 13-and-a-half hour drought at Wetherby Road, and arrived after the Sulphurites had enjoyed a sustained period in the ascendancy.

"There were a lot of good things to come out of it, for me," Weaver added.

"I said to the players in the changing room before the game that if we don't get the outcome that we all want, then I will take the flak for that, but I do want you to take the handbrake off and commit to playing.

"And, eventually, we saw that. I thought that it was a bit cagey at first, but the lads did get more and more touches of the football.

"We were knocking it about and, certainly in the second half, we saw signs that the team is coming through.

"There was more exciting football played in that second half. We made a good impression on the game.”

Results elsewhere mean that although Tuesday’s loss was Town’s 14th in 18 league outings, they remain just three points from safety at the foot of the table.