Simon Weaver 'overjoyed' with quality of Harrogate Town's goals in opening-day triumph over Swindon Town

The Sulphurites made a near-perfect start to their 2022/23 League Two campaign as they turned over a much-fancied Robins side in convincing style at Wetherby Road.

Alex Pattison broke the deadlock two minutes before half-time with an emphatic finish, crashing an effort in off the underside of the cross-bar after Miles Welch-Hayes had kept George Thomson's left-wing corner alive.

Five minutes into the second period, Pattison and Luke Armstrong combined on the edge of the Swindon box to tee up Huddersfield Town loanee Matty Daly to rifle an even better strike into the top corner.

All three of Harrogate's on-loan Terriers youngsters were then involved in making the game safe on 76 minutes.

Jaheim Headley and Josh Austerfield initially showed real composure in calmly playing the ball out from the left-back position before the former found Daly near halfway.

The former Everton man then slid a nicely-weighted pass in behind for substitute Jack Muldoon, who got the better of advancing Robins stopper Sol Brynn on the edge of the away area and was able to roll into an empty net.

"I'm overjoyed, really," Weaver told the Harrogate Advertiser.

"We want our lads to play with freedom and fortunately our attacking players did in a creative sense. You want the players going home tonight absolutely buzzing because they've had a creative moment.

"It seemed to take an age to drop down to Patto from Miles' header from that corner for him to smash it into the roof of the net. Those chances go over the stand more often than not, it's a really difficult skill. I remember Jack Emmett scoring one similar to that and you just think 'what a finish'.

"The incessant pressure for the second goal, smelling blood, that's how we have to be. They [Swindon] were a bit sluggish on the edge of their box and Matty's finish, he smashed it in, right in the corner, an absolute thunderbolt.

"And those moments are special when you execute the finish like we did for the third after the build-up play and the team-work. I had a little venture outside my technical area, a slow one, but it was really pleasing.

"We could have finished the last 10 minutes maybe scoring one or two more, but that is just me being greedy."

Saturday's success means that Town finish the opening weekend second in the League Two standings.