Harrogate Town opinion: Sulphurites need to rediscover their form - and fast

I’ve never told you this before, but I’m in a weird and wonderful choir. Last weekend, we were invited to walk and sing in the hills above Todmorden in the company of Clare Balding, recording for a forthcoming episode of her ‘Ramblings’ series on Radio Four.

The walk clashed with the visit of Colchester United to Harrogate Town and, after a little deliberation, I chose to stay at home and take a gentle stroll down to Wetherby Road instead of getting wet and muddy.

The closest I came to a hill of any kind was witnessing the mountain Simon Weaver’s Sulphurites left themselves to climb, whilst conceding two goals inside the first 17 minutes.

Both goals were similar in execution; a simple route one ball from Colchester, an abject failure to win the first header- Warren Burrell is no match for big opponents in the air – and too much time and room for the subsequent runner in the box.

I’d like to say Town displayed as much strength as a wet paper bag confronted with a fresh pound of apples but, in all truth, the wet paper bag would probably put up a lot tougher resistance.

We’d learned nothing from our trip to Colchester earlier in the season where, in a game we needed to win but certainly couldn’t afford to lose, we also shipped two poor goals in a lacklustre first-half display.

It could easily have turned into another Newport, where we went four down before half-time, if not for Pete Jameson’s finger tips and the width of a post during a worryingly chaotic passage of play.

It didn’t, and with Town hitting the post themselves through the fit-again Danny Grant and stretching the visiting keeper twice, it felt like one goal could still get us back into the contest.

That was until we gifted Colchester a third shortly after the break when Kayne Ramsay lost the ball in midfield with Rory McArdle stuck on the halfway line and with no chance of ever getting back.

Samson Tovide then glided past Josh Falkingham and Burrell as if they simply weren’t there, drawing Jameson and Jaheim Headley and squaring to an unmarked Junior Tchamadeu, who was left with the simple task of rolling the ball into an empty net. I’d seen more presence in a serial truant at my old school.

Luke Armstrong eventually forced a consolation over the line, but it was too little too late. Colchester were content to protect what they had and their superiority in the air nullified anything decent flung into their box.

The way Saturday’s game played out left me yearning for the company of Clare Balding. Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d find myself writing.

Furthermore, my choir had a better time than me in the hills and we have a gig booked in Bristol in early February. Unfortunately it clashes with the short trip to Carlisle and I determined there and then to book on the coach … to the West Country.

Although it shouldn’t come as any great surprise, on listening to Radio York afterwards as I’m a glutton for punishment, I was struck by how angry Simon Weaver was in his post-match interview.

I’d never heard him so vocal in the criticism of his defence before, as he hinted at bringing players in because he’d had enough of shipping cheap goals in this fashion. That was the gist of it anyhow.

To add insult to injury, the news then broke that Huddersfield Town have recalled our best player in recent weeks, Jaheim Headley, from his loan spell. This did nothing to lighten my mood, as he was fast turning into my new favourite Town player with his all-action displays at left full-back.

We also witnessed Rochdale coming from behind to win at Bradford City in midweek, leaving Town just four points off the relegation places.

Meanwhile, Colchester have signed ex-Harrogate defender Connor Hall to further strengthen their ever-improving squad. How we could do with him and Will Smith in their prime back in the centre-half positions.

With buoyant Stevenage next to visit Wetherby Road fresh from upsetting Premier League Aston Villa in the FA Cup and us having shipped six goals to two teams below us in our last two games, we need to sharpen up fast.

We must rediscover the form which saw us win three in a row between November and December, otherwise we’re going to find ourselves bogged down in a tough old relegation battle.