Relief for Simon Weaver as Harrogate Town 'hold their nerve' and end sequence of five consecutive defeats

The Sulphurites produced their first genuinely positive performance in some time at Highbury Stadium, and created enough chances to have come away with what would have been a much-needed three-point haul.

But, they could very easily have returned to North Yorkshire empty-handed once again, and required a 91st-minute penalty save from goalkeeper James Belshaw to prevent the Cod Army from snatching a late victory.

Regardless, halting the club’s worst-ever sequence of results since their promotion to the Football League in 2020 understandably left boss Weaver in a more positive frame of mind.

“I think it's good to end that run, you know, it's a different atmosphere then in the changing room and then on the journey home and we've got to take that,” he said.

"I am pleased for the players, really. They were so keen on stopping the rot today. Obviously we wanted the three points, but it's building blocks of confidence that we're trying to achieve at the moment.

“It's about consistent efforts, a consistent way of playing and it’s so much easier when you've got round pegs in round holes at this level.

"I think that the last three games, we have performed so much better. Sunday was about stopping the rot, and I’m proud of the display.”

While Town have barely laid a glove on their opponents during some of their recent defeats and appeared devoid of confidence, Weaver felt that his players demonstrated plenty more of the qualities he is looking for during their outing on the Lancashire coast.

"What we want from all of the players is, no matter what, let’s make sure that we fight for everything and confront that little bit of anxiety that comes along with not getting results,” the Harrogate chief added.

"You are never going to win big, or win at all really, by putting the gloves up and not coming out to play.

“I think the inclusion, finally, of Matty Daly and Stephen Dooley, coming back from his head injury, has increased the quality of our play and it's enabled us to play the brand of football that we've always tried to.

"But, it's not easy to if you don't have the round pegs and round holes available."

Town’s recent run of form and the uninspiring football that they have been serving up has understandably drawn plenty of criticism from supporters, with Weaver bearing the brunt of much of their ire.

Addressing that external noise, Weaver said: “It's easy for anyone outside the ring to say ‘oh, you should be doing this, or should be doing that’, but we're up against it at this level, it's as simple as that.

“I know the odds are stacked against us, and they certainly are when you've got the quality of players in our treatment room that we have. And so it's about developing players and trying to make them confident enough to perform well at this level and get something out of the games.

"We’re in survival mode, but if we play survival football or try to out-fight teams physically, we'll come out on the losing end of it more often than not.

"So, we have to try and develop play, pass it and show what we did in large passages of play on Sunday – but even then we needed a big moment at the end from James Belshaw.

"He held his nerve and we have all got to hold our nerve. We are down to the bare bones, but you learn a lot about people when you are up against it and the odds are against you, but we like to prove people wrong.”

Town remain 20th in the League Two standings and four points clear of the relegation zone following Sunday’ result.