Harrogate Town opinion: At least lightning didn’t strike twice at Stockport County

A lot has happened since I last appeared in these pages two weeks ago. I was hoping to get back to matters on the pitch last week, but all that changed of course with the sudden passing of the Queen and the postponement of a visit from Carlisle for the third time in three seasons.

In a time of great change off the pitch, it proved to be the same old, same old on it once bogey team Salford City arrived in town the following Tuesday.

My daughter Molly and I have never seen Harrogate Town beat the Ammies, even when we’ve been awarded three penalties in one game, although we did grab a draw that time having been 3-0 down.

It’s now gotten to the point where we turn up half expecting to lose, and I often wonder whether the players feel the same way.

So, after an immaculately observed two-minute silence, punctuated only by the sound of passing cars on Wetherby Road, we cranked the volume up in the Kop to try and lift the team as best we could, hopeful this may be the time we beat our rivals from over the Pennines.

It was my first chance to see some of the four deadline day signings in action. All welcome additions to add a bit of pace going forwards, and an admission from the management that we were severely lacking in options in this area.

It remains to be seen whether any of the new faces will have the same effect as Josh March or Jack Diamond did in the past, but the additions to a thin squad are welcome.

The team, mostly unscarred by previous encounters, put up a tremendous fight against a visibly better Salford team.

You couldn’t fault the effort from any player in a Town shirt, as City players were closed down and tackles and blocks were made, but the ball was often conceded far too cheaply in midfield and we found ourselves doing a lot of chasing of it with only 32 percent of the possession.

We could have nicked it with a couple of one-on-ones with the Ammies keeper, the second one created by a lightning turn of pace by Sam Folarin, but we found ourselves lacking that clinical edge once again.

Hopefully it will come, along with more positive possession, as our new players begin to gel as a team more. It certainly needs to.

As four additional minutes went up on the fourth official’s board and we found ourselves heading for a victorious goalless draw, the conversation went thus:

"That’s good, I think we can win this 1-0. What do you think?” ventured my daughter.

“I’ll be happy with 0-0,” I responded, my finger nails chewed to the bone.

“No, I think we can win it,” she insisted.

“I think we’re more likely to lose it,” I countered, wary of the history of this fixture.

Needless to say, I take no pleasure in being proven correct, as we conceded a soft free-kick three minutes into injury-time and Salford made us pay in the cruelest of fashions.

Neither the players or supporters deserved it and the home terraces fell almost as silent as they had been pre-match, but we stayed to clap the players off the pitch.

Have I ever told you, dear reader, that I hate Salford City?

Following that hammer blow, I was intending to travel to Stockport on the Saturday, but my intention to book on the family coach on the Friday was scuppered, as the two planned coaches were amalgamated into one already full coach on the preceding Wednesday.

So, I missed out on a trip to a ground I’d been wanting to visit since watching a raucous live FA Cup tie there on the BBC last season.

From what I can gather, Town rode their luck in the first half and could easily have been at least three down, but tightened up considerably as Simon Weaver rang the changes with five substitutions inside 30 minutes – a collector’s item indeed from a manager not renowned for radical changes during a game.

It was an acknowledgement that things couldn’t continue as they had been doing, and a larger squad does give you those options.

Lack of creativity aside, I was pleased with the result, as a late injury-time Stockport free-kick was successfully defended and lightning didn’t strike twice.

One thing’s for certain though, we need to find our touch in front of goal at Stevenage, or our goal of the month will be the penalty that Luke Armstong converted at Sutton United.