Harrogate Town opinion: Recent displays provide hope that there could be more trips to Valley Parade to cherish

The little shop stood cowering amongst the bright plastic frontages on Manningham Lane. Cracked windows perched behind rusty grilles and old furniture squatted haphazardly inside, as a woman and two children peered curiously outside at the passing football crowd.

My wife and I had just moved into a house in Otley with very little furniture, so I snuck in through the front door, eyes alighting on a slightly ‘distressed’, as in pre-loved, wooden kitchen table.

Price including delivery duly negotiated with the family inside, I left to join the throng of away fans round the corner outside Valley Parade. That was just before Christmas, 24 years ago.

I returned that January to settle the bill and then took my place in the delivery van to help with directions. It was the last day of Ramadan and, as they ended their fast, the two members of the family delivering the table shared their food with me on the way there. They didn’t have to, of course, but it was a touching moment.

As to the match that day? I can’t remember a thing, in fact I’ve blanked out every visit I made to Valley Parade to watch my old team, Wolves, in the second tier of the Football League, as they were always invariably second best to a solid Bradford team.

On checking the back history, this was the fourth defeat in five I’d seen, the other match a long-forgotten draw.

You may well ask what all this has to do with Harrogate Town and I’d reply not a lot, in truth. It’s just my rambling, Ronnie Corbett-esque way of illustrating the enormity of the achievement by a team residing in Division One of the Northern Premier League at that time and how they’ve made Valley Parade into a happy place for me to visit these days.

Whether it’s Lloyd Kerry sweeping the ball into the net 15 minutes from time during the second lockdown or last season’s fantastic 3-1 victory in front of an ecstatic travelling support, I now remember trips to Valley Parade fondly for events on the pitch.

The horrendous traffic queue towards Shipley which threatened to make us miss the kick-off, despite setting out nearly two hours in advance, will soon disappear from my memory banks in favour of Jack Muldoon roasting their left full back and squaring for an incoming Matty Daly to squeeze his shot in via the City goalkeeper and the post.

So, Saturday’s visit in the FA Cup first round continued the happy trend, as Town banished their difficulties in League Two to put on a display to match the previous visits.

I’d heard one or two suggestions that we should be putting out a changed team and resting one or two players to concentrate on the league, so I’m glad to report that Simon Weaver played his strongest team.

Barely three years ago, we’d have killed for the chance to play in the FA Cup first round, and I remember the excitement of getting there and drawing Portsmouth at home. It’s something we should never ever take for granted and I’m glad we didn’t, as results like this can only give the players confidence going forwards.

We could, and should, have been out of sight on clear-cut first half chances created, as Bradford struggled to cope with our incisive passing through their back-line. And, although it was by no means one-way traffic, the defence then held firm to limit the hosts to not even a single shot on target.

The surprise early return of Joe Mattock to partner Warren Burrell in the centre of defence paid particular dividends, with both players making vital blocks and interceptions as the Bantams pressed unsuccessfully for an equaliser.

The scenes at the final whistle were again something to treasure as the players came over to enjoy the celebrations with the vocal travelling support; Josh Falkingham making sure he soaked it all in before heading for the dressing room.

It shows what we can do when we all pull together as a club, and the players need to bottle and retain this moment for the fight ahead in the league.

Fast forward to the visit of Carlisle on Tuesday night, and you could see the confidence from Saturday flowing through the veins of every player in a Town shirt. It was the brightest performance of the season for me, and Town can count themselves extremely unfortunate not to take all three points.

My only criticism is that the players appeared to sit back after going 3-2 up and invited pressure, instead of doing what they had been doing so well all match and going for the jugular.

The defensive substitution of Rory McArdle for Danny Grant, whilst understandable on one level as the visitors won a string of corners, didn’t help in this regard, although how much of this was down to the weekend exertions catching up with the players and Carlisle being shocked into life by Jaheim Headley’s majestic run and strike is also open to interpretation.

Whatever, it was a thrilling match to watch, with Town playing some superb passing football with forward menace in a first half they dictated, and it’s a mystery how the teams went in level.

To come from behind twice showed the newfound confidence the players have found and, if the 93rd-minute equaliser was a severe punch to the gut, we shouldn’t be too downhearted at the failure to climb two points further away from the bottom of the table.

Make no bones about it, if the team play like they have this last week they stand an even chance of achieving a fourth season at this elevated level. They’re certainly going to have to follow through though, week in week out, if we want to cherish more days out like the one at Valley Parade.