Ryan Fallowfield accepts responsibility for Harrogate Town's loss at Stevenage FC

Harrogate Town right-back Ryan Fallowfield has admitted that he was at fault for Stevenage's winning goal at Broadhall Way. Pictures: Matt Kirkham

The only goal of the game arrived seven minutes after half-time when home goalkeeper Jamie Cumming launched a huge clearance out of his hands into the away half and the Sulphurites' right-back attempted to intervene.

Unfortunately for Town, Fallowfield mistimed his header, allowing Elliott List to run clean through on goal and take the ball around James Belshaw before slotting home.

"It's frustrating for myself from a personal point of view. We've lost 1-0, you could say that I'm the reason, we've lost 1-0 because of a mistake by myself," the 25-year-old told the Harrogate Advertiser in a frank post-match assessment.

Ryan Fallowfield blocks Stevenage match-winner Elliott List's route to goal.

"Obviously I am the last man at the back, the ball's looped up in the air and it's moving. I'm not making an excuse, it's a brilliant touch from their striker and he's finished it well.

"It's a big moment in the game. As a defender, I should deal with that [situation] a lot better than I did. Belly [Belshaw] actually shouted to me to keep Lloyd [Kerry] with me and I said 'we've sorted it'. Simon [Power] was back and so, for me, it was sorted.

"Dan Jones has got a long throw-in, we've put people forward. Their keeper has caught it, it's a good kick, the touch is a good one and it's a good finish, there's no disputing that. But, from my point of view I've got to do better and it is something that I need to look at.

"I know and everyone else knows that I should have dealt with it better than I did."

Fallowfield admitted that the fact that Town lost Saturday's game is all the more disappointing for both him and his team-mates because of how well they played over the course of 90 minutes.

The visitors dominated possession for long periods, played some slick football and also engineered a number of decent goal-scoring opportunities.

"I thought we were good for large parts of the game," the former Hull City defender added.

"As we've seen with a lot of results this season, the first goal is crucial and a lot of teams tend to sit in after taking the lead. It's just fine margins in football and that's the way it has gone on Saturday.

"We've still got something to build on because we played a lot of good football and created chances. The final touch inside the box or the shot probably wasn't quite there, but there's positives we can take and a lot that we can learn from."

Town remain 11th in the League Two standings despite Saturday's loss, their first in four matches following on from three consecutive wins.

They return to action on Tuesday evening when they entertain Colchester United at the EnviroVent Stadium, 7pm kick-off.