Harrogate Town show 'really positive signs' during victory over Guiseley AFC in first pre-season friendly
Simon Weaver said he saw real “promise” in Harrogate Town’s first outing of pre-season.
The Sulphurites, who are preparing for life back in the National League following their relegation from League Two at the end of 2025/26, beat seventh-tier Guiseley 2-1 away from home on Saturday afternoon.
Town handed debuts to all six of their new signings in what was their opening friendly of the summer and came out on top thanks to goals from Bailey Hobson and Mason Bennett.
And Weaver was largely pleased with what he witnessed at Nethermoor.
"I said before the game that it was going to be imperfect at times because it was the first pre-season friendly, and people are new to it,” the Harrogate boss told BBC Radio York.
"But, it was promising. The new players made a good introduction, brought different ingredients and personalities on the pitch.
"We are not accustomed to the heat in this country, and it has been quite a trying week for the players. They have been in every day and have only had Sunday off since we started back. It has been intense.
"But, we are determined to be a fit, hungry young group, and so to come out and to the leg work and show the energy that we did, these are good signs.
"We passed the ball well on quite long grass, which is difficult in terms of the speed of the game, and overall it was a good afternoon’s work.”
Debutant midfielder Hobson opened the scoring with a low strike from just outside the box shortly before half-time, with Mason Bennett’s close-range finish doubling Town’s advantage in the second period.
Guiseley, who finished last term 13th in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, pulled one back late on through Cam Wilson.
And although he insisted that he won’t lose any sleep over that goal, Weaver said that his players needed to do better in that moment.
"We had a firm foothold in the first half, it is just a shame that in the second half, although we scored a really good goal, we conceded one,” the Sulphurites chief added.
"We will look at it, and while we don’t need to dissect it too much because it is still early days, we had plenty of bodies back to be able to defend with more intensity in that moment.
"So, that meant that the second half was 1-1, and we have to be a little bit sharper and more attentive inside our own box.
"But, I have to say that other than that, we were quite dominant in possession and showed some really positive signs.”
This Saturday, Weaver and his men head to Cleethorpes Town for their second friendly outing of the summer, then visit South Shields before entertaining Doncaster Rovers and Scarborough Athletic.