Harrogate Town 2 Doncaster Rovers 2: History repeats itself once again as Sulphurites stage another comeback

Just as they did against AFC Wimbledon and Leyton Orient over the Easter weekend, the Sulphurites served up a dreadful first-half performance at home to out-of-form Doncaster Rovers on Saturday afternoon.

But, having found themselves seemingly down and out following strikes from Aidan Barlow and Luke Molyneux, Simon Weaver’s team somehow completed yet another unlikely salvage mission.

Yet, while goals from Luke Armstrong and Tom Eastman ensure that they remain three points clear of the League Two relegation zone, struggling Town will surely feel that this was an opportunity missed

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the fact that they had won just one of their previous 13 matches, Doncaster began the contest in nervous fashion.

They looked to be there for the taking, but following a reasonably bright opening 10 minutes, Harrogate did everything they possibly could to give their visitors as much encouragement as possible.

Indeed, after Kazeem Olaigbe saw an early strike deflected wide and Sam Folarin lashed an ambitious long-range effort over the cross-bar, Rovers’ inexperienced back-line was able to enjoy a comfortable first half’s work.

Meanwhile, with a serious lack of intensity in their work out of possession playing right into Doncaster’s hands, Town began to toil as the South Yorkshiremen visibly grew in confidence with each passing minute.

The Rovers fans inside Wetherby Road had begun the afternoon by serenading manager Danny Schofield with chants of “your football is sh*t” and mocking their goal-shy team after they actually managed a shot in anger.

But they were celebrating on 34 minutes when Barlow was given time to turn on the edge of the box and fire the visitors into the lead with a fine curling effort.

Not even falling behind was enough to spark a Harrogate side in desperate need of a victory in their battle for Football League survival into life and as Barlow came within inches of bending home his second of the match, Weaver’s men continued to serve up more slow, aimless football.

The second 45 began just as poorly for the Sulphurites as the first had ended, Doncaster doubling their advantage just over a minute after the resumption.

Some neat play down the right led to a shooting opportunity for Kieran Agard, and although Mark Oxley managed to push the ball across the face of his goal, Molyneux followed up at the far post to slot home a clinical first-time finish.

Having found themselves 2-0 down in their previous two matches and managed to salvage point on each occasion, it seemed highly unlikely that Town could repeat the trick. But, by the 50th minute they were back in the contest.

Folarin did well to dispossess the ponderous Adam Long on the right-hand side of the Doncaster box and then showed good awareness to pick out Armstrong. His initial shot and then follow-up header were blocked, but Town’s tenacious leading marksman eventually managed to force the ball over the line from a yard out.

With the pace of Folarin and Olaigbe causing Rovers some problems down the home left, the visitors suddenly found themselves very much on the ropes and were pegged back with an hour gone.The South Yorkshiremen failed to clear their lines following a corner, and when the ball dropped out of the sky, centre-half Eastman was still up from the back and in the right place at the right time to take a touch then ram a low strike beyond Jonathan Mitchell.

Sixty seconds later, a glorious chance for Harrogate to take the lead came and went.

The excellent Folarin raced on to a ball over the top, made his way past the advancing Mitchell then unselfishly cut a pass back for Alex Pattison, but with the goal gaping, his shot was somehow deflected wide.

It was Town who continued to look the more likely during the closing stages, but although Rovers went very much into their shells, the hosts struggled to really create another clear-cut opening.

Their best chance to take the lead materialised in the 81st minute when Mitchell spilled a Jack Muldoon cross under pressure from Armstrong.

The ball initially dropped at the feet of substitute Dior Angus, however he slipped at the crucial moment before Warren Burrell took aim but got too much elevation on his strike.