Harrogate Town 2 Crewe Alexandra 2: 'Penalty changed the game', insists 'disappointed' Simon Weaver

Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver. Pictures: Matt Kirkham

Simon Weaver believes his Harrogate Town side were cruising towards a much-needed home win over Crewe Alexandra until they conceded a late penalty.

With the Sulphurites leading Saturday’s League Two clash 2-0, a slight touch from Anthony O’Connor on Dan Agyei saw the Railwaymen awarded an 82nd-minute spot-kick, which the latter converted to spark a late fightback.

Tariq Uwakwe then netted an equaliser in the final minute of normal time to cancel out earlier strikes by Jack Muldoon and Kazeem Olaigbe, preventing the Wetherby Road outfit from pulling five points clear of the relegation zone.

And Weaver admitted that his side should have seen the game out, having looked relatively untroubled at the back for the majority of the first 80 minutes.

Kazeem Olaigbe celebrates after firing Harrogate Town into a 2-0 lead against Crewe Alexandra.

“We were in the driving seat but the penalty changed the game, without a doubt,” he said.

“We put ourselves in a great position because the intensity was there, the drive was there and I thought we looked an organised unit. We had it there in our hands but we gave away a penalty at a time when you think ‘just hold firm for five more minutes and we’re there’.

"They then threw everything at us after that point with nothing to lose. Even they looked resigned at 2-0 and it needed a moment like that for them to get into the game.

"I think it is a penalty, but we weren’t under severe pressure, that was the thing. It was a moment where there’s a switch off and a penalty given away. There’s obviously never a right time to give one away, but it opened the door for a bit of late pressure.

“I’m obviously disappointed to throw two points away, it’s particularly galling because we were so close. We are battling hard, we know where we are in the league and how valuable three points would have been."

Unhappy though he was about the final score, Weaver insisted that he was still able to take encouragement from what he saw from his players during all but the closing stages of Saturday’s clash at the EnviroVent Stadium.

“That was our best display at home in quite some time,” the Town boss added.

“I was very proud of 90 percent of the performance but we shouldn’t need a third goal to finish it off.

“I’m unperturbed about it. I’m disappointed that we haven’t maximised our play today in terms of returning points but I know that we are looking a much better team.

“There will be hurdles, there will be bumps and bruises along the way, but it is how you react really.

"We’ve got another big game [at Grimsby] to look forward to on Tuesday and if we apply ourselves like we did for 80 minutes today then we’ll be in every game.”

Saturday’s result sees Town drop one place to 21st in the League Two standings, though there is now a three-point gap between them and the bottom two.