MK Dons 4 Harrogate Town 1: Sulphurites got 'giddy' after taking first-half lead
Becoming “giddy” after taking the lead contributed to Harrogate Town’s 4-1 defeat at MK Dons on Saturday afternoon.
That was the view of Sulphurites boss Simon Weaver after he saw his side suffer a first loss in six League Two matches.
The men from Wetherby Road were always going to be up against it when they took on a title-chasing Dons side whom their manager classes as the best in the entire division.
But, Town were rewarded to a positive start to proceedings as on-loan Wigan Athletic midfielder Tobias Brennan handed them a 25th-minute lead.
Weaver then felt that his players went away from the things they had been doing so well during the early stages, and it took the hosts just four minutes to pull level through Rushian Hepburn-Murphy.
Luke Offord then struck in deep into first-half stoppage time to turn the game on its head, and a third goal shortly after the interval put MK in full control.
That Aaron Collins goal was then added to by Ben Wiles as the Dons went on to complete the kind of comprehensive victory that definitely did not look to be on the cards after half an hour.
"At 1-0 up, I didn’t forecast a defeat, never mind a 4-1 defeat,” he said. "At 1-0, we were looking to stay composed, and I thought that we got a bit giddy with it, a bit excitable on the pitch.
"We didn’t quite stick to it in terms of the clean passes and we lost a bit of the organisation with the set-up. The structure just went awry a little bit.
"And we conceded poor goals, which has not been a characteristic of this group since we changed things in January.
“But, the lads have been very honest in the changing room straight away and held their hands up in terms of the defensive side. They were too soft, those goals, and they’re moments where we’ve got to do better.
“But, MK Dons are probably the best side in the division, and the score-line looks heavier than it actually felt like.”
Weaver also felt that Town missed opportunities while the game was still in the balance that would have changed the complexion of proceedings had they been taken.
"You have got to put chances to bed,” he added.
"We scored one from point-blank range, but should have scored earlier than that and should have scored after that.
"And then the picture looks entirely different.”
Harrogate remain bottom of the table following Saturday’s defeat, but the failure of any of the three sides directly above them in the table means that they remain just one win away from escaping the drop zone.