'Magnitude' of Harrogate Town's survival scrap to blame for recent first-half struggles

Saturday saw the Sulphurites fight back from two goals down to draw 2-2 for the third game in succession, this time at home to Doncaster Rovers.

Just as was the case during their Easter fixtures against AFC Wimbledon and Leyton Orient, Town were poor during the first half and only really began to play once they got to a point in the game where they effectively had nothing to lose.

Asked to explain this recent trend, Weaver pointed to the pressure of the situation that his players find themselves in - three points above the drop zone - as one reason, and encouraged them to start playing with the “handbrake off” from the first whistle.

“We have got to stop giving ourselves a mountain to climb, this is the third comeback on the trot and you don’t see that happening too often,” the Harrogate chief reflected.

“But these lads know the magnitude of the situation. You can play it down, but we know where we are in the table and we know where other teams are.

“These lads are human beings and good human beings. When you get good lads, they don’t want to let each other down, they don’t want to let the club down. Maybe they are too bothered.

“So maybe it’s just about taking that psychological handbrake off. When there’s a lot at stake it can be difficult at 0-0 to go for the jugular. It’s perhaps a little bit easier in some respects at 2-0 down because we’re not expected to come back.

“So we have got to believe in ourselves more and, at 0-0, really go for it. We’ve got to back ourselves and take charge of games. Let’s go for it, pass the ball and score some goals.”

Town did indeed give a decent account of themselves after falling two down, goals from Luke Armstrong and Tom Eastman cancelling out earlier strikes by Aidan Barlow and Luke Molyneux.

But, the opening 10 minutes aside, their first-half showing left a lot to be desired.

“We didn’t look after the ball well enough, to be honest,” Weaver added.

“We didn’t show enough quality in the first half to have controlled possession and to be able to put our foot on the gas in the game.

“It was like a hot potato at times.”

Out-of-from Rovers arrived at Wetherby Road with the worst form in the division having won just one of their previous 13 matches.

Thus, with a trio of tough-looking away fixtures on the horizon, Saturday’s game looked, on paper, to represent a huge opportunity to record a priceless win in Town’s bid to preserve Football League status.

“Of course we were targeting more than a point, but there’s no time to dwell on that, we move on quickly,” Weaver continued.

“We are pleased not to lose the game, obviously. If you had asked me shortly after half-time when we’re 2-0 down, I’m thinking that it’s a big ask to come back from that, again.

“So in that sense, this is a valuable point, but obviously we are targeting home games as wins.

“At 2-2, we weren’t being daft, but we thought go and get another one and win the game. Patto [Alex Pattison] put one wide but there was still plenty of time left to go and get another, I think there was only one team that looked as if they were going to go on and take all three points.

“But, we are still in the same position as we were before the game, three points above the bottom two, and we take the positives.”

Saturday’s result keeps Town 20th in the table, but Hartlepool’s defeat at Newport means they remain three points clear of the relegation places with a game in hand on all of the sides beneath them.