Swindon Town 3 Harrogate Town 1: Sulphurites' dressing room remains 'upbeat' despite fourth straight loss

The Sulphurites took a 30th-minute lead against their high-flying hosts through Jack Muldoon, but ultimately ended up on the wrong end of a 3-1 score-line down in Wiltshire.

Ollie Clarke headed the top-of-the-table Robins level just before the interval, with Aaron Drinan’s late brace deciding a contest which remained very much in the balance until the first minute of stoppage time.

And, although Saturday’s defeat - which follows on from reverses at the hands of Crawley, Bromley and Chesterfield - sees Town drop to 17th place, their manager says that he and his players remain in an “upbeat” frame of mind.

"The atmosphere is positive in there [the dressing room] because they know that they are not far off really competing, and actually coming away with at least a point against a top outfit with top resources,” Weaver told BBC Radio York.

"For the large part, we looked a good team playing against top of the league. It’s a good atmosphere here and we knew it was going to be a challenge, but I thought that ours was a spirited display.

"I thought for a long period of time, we could get a result. Obviously going a goal up, looking dangerous on the break and organised as a defensive unit too, I didn’t think it would end up with that outcome – which is disappointing.

"We have just got to keep working hard on staying focused. Sometimes it can be psychological after a few defeats on the bounce, but we have had it hard with the fixtures, and I am sure that the efforts of the players will prevail in the end as they always have done.

“We have always come through sticky periods. So, we have got to keep upbeat, there is no point in feeling sorry for ourselves.”

Town began brightly at the County Ground, Lewis Cass seeing an early header cleared from underneath the cross-bar before Reece Smith’s effort was deflected against a post.

The visitors then got their reward for that positive start as the ball rebounded into the Swindon net off Jack Muldoon after he had run clean through on goal and forced a save from Connor Ripley in a one-on-one situation.

But, the Robins managed to get themselves back on terms when Clarke rose at the far post to nod home Joe Snowdon’s inviting right-wing cross.

The game could have gone either way in the second period, though it was the hosts who made the all-important breakthrough in the 71st minute as Drinan headed home from close range after James Belshaw had denied Clarke.

With Harrogate pushing hard for a leveller, Swindon countered with 91 minutes on the clock and made the game safe courtesy of Drinan’s fine curling finish.