Wealdstone FC 1 Harrogate Town 3: Injection of 'aggression' earns Sulphurites second win

Having made a decent start to the contest and taken a 28th-minute lead through Brad Dolaghan’s first goal for the club, the Sulphurites “went a bit soft” towards the end of the opening period and were pegged back by Micah Oberio’s emphatic finish.

That drop-off in performance level prompted manager Simon Weaver to demand at the interval that his players showed more intensity and physicality when the game got back underway.

The visitors heeded those words and, after Lewis Payne finished calmly one-on-one to restore their lead in the 54th minute, substitute Shawn McCoulsky wrapped things off late on with another goal that arrived on the counter-attack.

“I’m really pleased. It is good to get three goals,” Town boss Weaver told BBC Radio York. “But, if you look at the score-line, it doesn’t tell the full story. It was one heck of a battle.

"We started in real control the first 20 minutes and I was really impressed with the players because we knew it was going to be a big challenge here.

"We were crisp with the passing down the hill, but then I thought that we just went a bit soft on it and they scored from us losing the first ball and the second ball.

"We said the truth at half-time, that we needed to step up with the aggression, and we did that in the second half. The reaction from half-time was very good.

“This was good opposition who severely tested us and it was really important that we saw the game out. On another day, it might have been 3-2 or 3-3, but the spirit shone through.”

The opening exchanges were fairly even, though it was Harrogate who were first to really threaten when Payne’s header was cleared off the Wealdstone goal-line by Connor McAvoy.

The away side then broke the deadlock through Dolaghan, who showed his predatory instincts inside the penalty area as he slotted home the loose ball after Bailey Hobson’s 20-yard effort had drawn an unconvincing save from Dante Baptiste.

Town should have added a second soon afterwards, however Payne butchered a glorious three-versus-one break, choosing to shoot rather than square the ball for two unmarked team-mates.

And the Stones capitalised on that wastefulness, levelling matters six minutes before the interval.

Some flimsy and indecisive Town play during a midfield scrap meant that it was all too easy for Luke Norris emerge with the ball in a dangerous area and tee up Obiero, who crashed a finish beyond Mark Oxley.

It took an excellent last-ditch block by Lewis Cass to prevent Joe Newton from firing the Stones ahead just before half-time, and the Sulphurites were then indebted to Oxley, who made a big save at point-blank range to deny Norris early in the second period.

Weaver’s men then retook the lead following a superb turn deep inside his own half by Hobson, which was followed by a driving run towards halfway.

The Harrogate midfielder then slid Payne in behind, and he atoned up for his earlier mistake by calmly skipping past Baptiste and rolling the ball into an empty net.

Comfortable at 2-1 initially, Town then began to drop progressively deeper, and some poor game management saw them invite a sustained spell of pressure during the closing stages.

Again, Oxley had to come to his side’s rescue with another fine stop from Olufela Olomola and the hosts continued to turn the screw.

But, deep in injury time, McCoulsky and Hobson combined well on the counter-attack, with the latter eventually playing in the former to slot beyond Baptiste for 3-1.

Yet, although largely pleased with his side’s performance and a second win in as many matches this term, Weaver was far from happy with the way his defence was breached.

"It was a good finish by their lad, but we need to stop it at source,” the Harrogate chief added.

"The challenge for the players, and we have tried to talk about it in training, is being brave and having a high line because we have got a lot of mobility.

"But, if you drop deep and opposition forwards are receiving it on their chest or clattering into us and we are not picking up the second balls, you can be under threat, and so it proved.

"It was a brilliant finish, but we shouldn’t be giving a player like that time in the box.”

Just as was the case during their 5-2 opening-day win over Solihull, there were other moments when Town switched off in their defensive third and Weaver was quick to praise Oxley for his contribution to Saturday’s success.

"We’ve got the goalkeeper to thank for a fantastic save. And what a save,” he continued. “I was thinking it was in.

"We have to see things quicker when we are defending.”

Town’s triumph at Wealdstone means that they finish the weekend where they started it, top of the National League on goal difference with two wins from two.