Simon Says: Harrogate Town manager on King’s Lynn Town and Thackley wins

Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver writes an exclusive column for the Harrogate Advertiser Series each week. This Thursday, he discussed Harrogate Town’s FA Trophy win over
Simon Weaver (1407218AM14)Simon Weaver (1407218AM14)
Simon Weaver (1407218AM14)

He says: “The atmosphere on the coach after last Saturday’s Trophy win was fantastic.

“The lads and in particular Phil Barnes were in fine voice as the music volume was being racked up. They enjoyed a few beers on the way home and it was well deserved. A gritty 1-0 away victory, the second in a week, is great for morale. Kings Lynn are a solid team that create a hostile environment for away teams. The end-to-end game was full of incident.

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“They had two penalty shouts turned down by the referee and we had one that was given with four minutes to go and it was dispatched by Jake Speight. As expected they then poured bodies forward in an attempt to find an equaliser but the defence stood firm.

“The tensions from in and around the dugouts threatened to boil over in those dying minutes. A Kings Lynn Director was suddenly in-between the dugouts and making his feelings known. Emotions run high when there is a sense of injustice and he was lashing out verbal to everyone nearby.

“We obviously thought the referee had made the correct decision as our player in the box, James Walshaw, looked to have taken the ball around their GK only to be hauled down. That was looking at it from our perspective some 70 yards away.

“The referee was much closer but I couldn’t tell if he had a clear sight of it from where I was. To be honest we just wanted to win the game and go home. Hands were shaken after the game but things almost tipped over for the worse in the tunnel when one of our players was spat at by an opposition supporter.

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“Spitting has to be one of the dirtiest acts around and it’s bound to provoke a reaction and this time was no different though nothing really kicked off I’m glad to say. It was a disappointing end to a good cup tie where both sides were going hell for leather at each other for the entire clash.

“I played for Kings Lynn several years ago for six months just after I’d returned from a broken leg and enjoyed my time there. The supporters are a passionate lot and this isolated incident with one fan doesn’t change my thoughts on them as a club and they are clearly on the up.

“Mind you, there was another incident that didn’t go down too well with the Kings Lynn fans but that was our fault although it was quite funny and harmless. Macca, my assistant, walked the players over to where he perceived our away fans were standing to give them a good clap at the end of the game only to realise that our fans had walked around by that time and therefore he was actually instructing our players to jog over and clap the Kings Lynn fans ( who also had yellow scarves!)!

“This act really didn’t go down too well to be fair and they quickly did a U-turn!

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“On Tuesday we beat Thackley 4-1 in the WRCC and it was good to keep the run of results going.

“At times we passed the ball very well and we scored some decent goals. Looking ahead to Saturday and BPA at home it is sure to be another passionate local derby.

“We lost 1-0 at their ground earlier in the season and were left frustrated as we felt we deserved something out of the game.

“We we will be hungry to make up for it and improve on that performance. There are a lot of big games to look forward to and we are entering a critical period of the season. It would be good for the area if both Railway and ourselves can build momentum and generate some excitement in the second half of the season.”