Harrogate Town serve up 'poorest' pre-season performance as Lincoln City cruise to victory
Simon Weaver was far from satisfied with Harrogate Town’s level of performance during Saturday’s 4-0 loss to Lincoln City.
The League Two Sulphurites conceded twice early on and then two more late goals as they suffered a fourth consecutive pre-season defeat to higher-division opposition at Wetherby Road.
And, although he has been reasonably pleased with how his players have acquitted themselves during clashes with League One Huddersfield and Championship outfits Leeds United and Sheffield United, the Town boss was critical of their efforts at the weekend.
“In my opinion, it was the poorest performance so far this pre-season,” Weaver said. “I thought that we were caught off-guard in the first 10 minutes and actually, the four goals that we conceded, it wasn’t good enough from our perspective – we’ve got to be stronger.
"They were basic errors, rather than because of whatever shape they played or we played. It wasn’t about them cutting through us, it was basic defending that was amiss.
"We made the wrong decisions in the final third, but things become a little bit more fractious if you find yourself 2-0 down after 10 minutes.
"People get a bit more uptight on the ball, that’s human nature. You’ve got to build yourselves into the game and feel good about yourselves, or attempt to do so by nailing those fundamentals and get into the game against teams who are superior on paper.
"There has to be an emphasis on being a bit more down to earth. We can play like Man City if we get a few goals up, but you’ve got to earn the right, play what you see in front of you and get close to people.”
Town fell behind to League One Lincoln when Dylan Duffy netted with just five minutes on the clock.
Then, just four minutes later, Sean Roughan finished emphatically to put the Imps in full control of the contest.
Strikes in the final quarter-of-an-hour from Freddie Draper and Rob Street then wrapped things up for City.
Saturday’s loss follows on from a 4-1 midweek reverse at the hands of Sheffield United, Jack Muldoon bagging a first-half equaliser with a calm one-on-one finish having been sent through on goal by strike partner Josh March.