Harrogate Town were 'poor' against AFC Wimbledon, but Simon Weaver never stopped believing

The Sulphurites looked dead and buried at 2-0 down in the 89th minute of a contest in which they had been thoroughly second best for long periods.

But, the combination of a bit of magic from Kazeem Olaigbe and an accomplished Luke Armstrong finish gave them a glimmer of hope before Levi Sutton popped up deep in stoppage-time to level matters with virtually the last kick.

And Weaver says that “finding a way” to ensure that they did not finish empty-handed against opponents who had won just one of their previous 13 matches was essential.

"We were poor today. In so many aspects of our play, we have performed far better in recent games, we weren’t anywhere near our levels,” the Town boss said.

"It was far-removed from the standards we have been setting. I don’t think that there was enough energy in two or three of them in the first half, but I know these lads well enough now to know that they’re not cheating us. Maybe we were heavy-legged because of the pressure of our situation.

"But, as I keep saying, you will get the odd game where you don’t hit those standards and you have got to find a way of still getting a result – and we did because of the last few minutes. We dug in, we found a way and we can take so much from that fighting spirit.

"I think that the players believe and it’s also important for me to be able to believe in them as people, that when we are not at our best or anywhere near it, that we can dig in.

“I am probably daft in this respect, but I never give up, it’s not in my nature to think ‘oh, it’s just not our day’, I’ll believe that after the game. I always think that there are chances around the corner, but we need everyone to have that mentality and understanding that they were not out of sight at 2-0.”

Town’s dramatic last-gasp leveller arrived after Matty Foulds swung in a corner from the right which found its way through to Sutton at the far post.

Harrogate’s man of the match calmly took a touch then rammed an emphatic close-range finish into the Dons’ net, sparking scenes of jubilation around Wetherby Road.

“It was an incredible moment, I haven’t shown such spring in my leap as I did celebrating that goal for years, but this is what the game does to you,” Weaver added.

"I think it was my 714th or 715th game and I don’t think that the emotion has ever been quite as raw in the immediate aftermath of any performance.

"We were feeling rock-bottom because of the performance we were churning out for 80 minutes, but the lads finding a way to bring themselves back from the dead in this game brought about amazing emotions. It was an incredible moment when we scored that goal.

"The frustration within, I was trying to keep it within because I don’t want to undermine the confidence of the players and I don’t want to be a drama queen either, because it’s not all about me, but the fire was in the belly and it meant an awful lot to equalise.

"It was special. Luke gave us an opportunity with the goal that he scored, which was crafted nicely by him and Kazeem [Olaigbe] and there was just enough time for us to believe that actually we can do this. We poured bodies forward and Wimbledon eventually succumbed.”

Friday’s result keeps Harrogate 20th in the table, but they now sit just two points clear of the bottom two, albeit with a game in hand on all of the sides below them.