Harrogate Town's Brad Dolaghan delights manager Simon Weaver by showing his 'poacher's' instincts during Eastleigh FC win
Simon Weaver said he was delighted to see Brad Dolaghan showcase his “poacher’s” instincts during Harrogate Town’s 4-1 home win over Eastleigh.
The 21-year-old striker, who arrived for a significant transfer fee from Worthing in the summer, netted his second and third goals for the Sulphurites to set them on their way to a convincing victory at Wetherby Road.
And while the nature of those two close-range finishes are unlikely to live long in the memory – particularly compared with the two 25-yard strikes by Bailey Hobson and George Thomson that followed after half-time – Town’s manager said he was equally satisfied to see Dolaghan doing the exact thing he was signed for.
"I thought Brad was very good,” Weaver told the Harrogate Advertiser. “He showed his instincts and I’m happy if his goals aren’t the most eye-catching because he is a poacher and he has been brought in to do that, to add that finishing touch.
"We have lacked that at times. I think we played many good games in the second half of last season, but the performances didn’t always pay off because we didn’t have someone who could provide a finishing touch.
“We looked at Brad’s performances, his goal ratio and his data from last year and we just thought that everything indicated that, aligned with his attitude, he could be a finisher for us.
“And I think he will go from strength to strength after this. Getting these goals can only be good for Brad and I am delighted for him.”
Dolaghan’s first goal of the game arrived with just six minutes on the clock.
Eastleigh goalkeeper Josh Jeffries could only push Lewis Cass’ dangerous low cross from the right into the Town forward’s path, and he calmly controlled the ball on the six-yard line before passing it into the net.
The Spitfires equalised on 25 minutes through Jordan Cousins, but Dolaghan had his team back in front before the interval.
Grant Horton got his head to Morgan Williams’ free-kick delivery and as the ball bounced in front of Jeffries, Harrogate’s number 23 nipped in ahead of him and Harry Sidwell, lifted the ball over the stranded goalkeeper and rolled into an empty net.
Plenty of promising play followed, however it took until the 79th-minute for the Sulphurites to put the game to bed.
Captain Bailey Hobson took aim from distance and beat Jeffries with a low, skidding effort, before substitute George Thomson rifled one into the top corner from similar to range to wrap things up late on.