James Daly's 'brilliant' substitute appearance leaves Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver with food for thought

The pacy left-winger was introduced as a half-time substitute for striker Tom Cursons, with the Sulphurites trailing 2-0 at Wetherby Road and seemingly on their way to a first defeat in nine home matches.

But, Town fared better with 25-year-old Daly on the pitch, as Ellis Taylor shifted over to the right flank and Jack Muldoon took the place of Cursons up front.

They eventually managed to secure a point courtesy of two late goals, and Weaver felt that former Crystal Palace trainee Daly was the “catalyst” for his team’s improvement.

Thus, the Harrogate boss has a big decision to make ahead of Good Friday’s trip to title-chasing Walsall, having named an unchanged starting XI for the last three matches.

"We did get a reaction from half-time, it was a bit more positive, and I think JD was the catalyst for that,” Weaver said.

"I wanted a combination of things. I wanted Jack Muldoon down the middle because I thought he could affect the first ball a little bit better than we were doing, and Ellis Taylor over on that right side cutting in off his left foot.

"Jack Muldoon’s experience showed in that second half, Ellis had that magic moment picking out the top corner and James Daly coming off the bench is a good impact for the team.

"He certainly came on looking to impress, looking to impose himself and to get on the front foot – and he did just that. He was absolutely brilliant when he came on.

"The first thing he did, he went forward. I was saying to Thirs [Paul Thirlwell] in the first half that people aren’t beating a man. We needed to eliminate an opponent by taking them on and by expressing ourselves and we certainly got that from JD.”

Following on from that visit to third-placed Walsall, Town welcome Fleetwood to Wetherby Road on Easter Monday for what is their penultimate home outing of 2024/25.

With just four games of the season remaining, 20th-placed Harrogate have the opportunity to mathematically guarantee that they cannot be relegated over the course of the weekend, regardless of what the bottom two of Carlisle and Morecambe manage to do elsewhere.

Whatever decision he comes to regarding Daly, Weaver will be hoping that Taylor – Town’s man of the moment – can continue to do the business in the final third.

Following on from seeing his stoppage-time strike deflected in off Josh Vela to earn a crucial 1-0 victory over Carlisle last month, the 22-year-old scored one and set up another in the 3-2 win against Tranmere, then curled home a beauty at the weekend to make it 2-1.

And it was the ex-Sunderland ace’s left-wing corner delivery which led to the own goal that drew his team level against Grimsby.

"I’m delighted for him,” Weaver added. “He is a threat cutting in and it was a great finish.

"The confidence is coming bit by bit. He was an absentee from the game for quite some time with an injury and he was honest enough to admit that his confidence levels didn’t turn for a little bit.

"But what a finish it was, and it gave us all hope and changed the atmosphere.

"It was a magic moment. He is very capable of these moments and stood up when we needed it most.

"He can play off both sides, but when he comes off the right you can see that goal threat.”