Harrogate Town must continue to 'show character' if they are to 'bounce back' and beat the drop
Simon Weaver has urged his Harrogate Town players to keep “showing character” as they bid to preserve their Football League status.
The Sulphurites slid back to the bottom of League Two following a disastrous Saturday afternoon which saw them beaten 2-0 at home by Notts County while all of the sides around them managed to win.
Those victories for Barrow, Newport and Crawley leave the Wetherby Road outfit four points from safety with just six rounds of fixtures remaining in 2025/26 and facing an uphill task in their quest for survival.
But Weaver has insisted that the only way out of their current situation is for his team to remain resilient and return to training after the weekend determined to put things right.
"We knew it would be a difficult game against Notts County,” he told BBC Radio York. “And, there’s no shame in putting in a good performance but missing out.
“But the player are disappointed. They were hurting straightaway because they are professional footballers and they know the magnitude of the situation for us.
“They are a good group, they are good lads and they want to stay up.
"It seems to be going against us a fair bit, but we have to show the character to keep bouncing back.
"There’s a disappointment factor that we will all have to deal with at home over the next 24 hours, but then come back raring to go again.”
Having made a reasonably bright start to proceedings on Saturday afternoon, Town fell behind with just 10 minutes on the clock when Alassana Jatta tucked away Tom Iorpdenda’s low, right-wing cross from what looked an offside position.
The Sulphurites worked hard for a way back into the match, but looked toothless in the final third for the majority of the contest and failed to create any clear-cut opportunities.
Ellis Taylor lost his footing inside the box as one opening did present itself late in the first half, then took too long to get his shot away when left with just James Belshaw to beat early in the second period.
Substitute Stephen Duke-McKenna eventually forced former Harrogate favourite Belshaw into a meaningful save in the 73rd minute as the hosts appeared to be building up a head of steam.
But, their momentum was checked on 79 minutes when Henry Gray’s poor throw was picked off and Jatta was able to crash home County’s second from close range.
Duke-McKenna almost pulled one back for Town late on with an effort that flew just over the cross-bar, however that was as close as they were to come.