Starring Part for Will Smith at Harrogate…
Today, Morecambe travelled across the Pennines to the Wetherby Road stadium in North Yorkshire for the first time ever. They were there to play the reverse fixture to December’s win by the only goal of their home game against Harrogate Town. This was the only occasion on which the two clubs have competed against each other before. Town lost their last game – away at Forest Green – but had won three of their four fixtures before that, losing just one of them. Importantly, they had only conceded one goal at home as well in their last five fixtures. Harrogate started the game this afternoon in twelfth place in League Two and seem set – after a dip in form earlier this year – for a comfortable finish at the end of their first season in the EFL.
For the visitors, though, hopes of promotion or at least a place in the Play-Offs in summer is still the aim. Having said that, Morecambe inexplicably had also appealed the straight red card which Sam Lavelle received for a cynical `professional’ foul last Saturday after half an hour against Newport County. Once he was sent off, they lost the game as well. The Skipper had already conceded a penalty for handball which would normally have attracted a yellow card on its own. So why appeal in a situation in which it could be argued he had already got off lightly in the first place?
Manager Derek Adams’ hopes of immediately getting back to winning ways were not helped by the loss of midfield disrupter Yann Songo’o for the next four games as well. This was a result of his `Faggot’ remark against Tranmere Rovers earlier this year. After an FA disciplinary hearing during the week, he offered these thoughts:
“I’d like to offer a sincere apology for any offence I’ve caused. I’m really disappointed in myself for using that term, because it does not reflect the type of person I am.”
The team he was once a part of had lost two and won two of their last five league games. Derek Adams had this to say about today’s game:
“Harrogate have done really well this year. They’ve come up from the National League and put themselves in a very good position in the league table. They’ll be happy with the progress they have made and they have a couple of exciting players. They play good football in a way which is nice to watch. Their results have picked up lately which has lifted them into the middle of the table, joining that pack of teams pushing to make it into the play-off positions.”
There is still unfinished business from National League times as far as Harrogate are concerned. They have yet to play the FA Trophy Final against Concord Rangers which was postponed last year due to the Covid pandemic. It will now be played at an empty Wembley Stadium next May. So – whatever happens in the interim – the club and its fans have something to look forward to at the end of this campaign. Town’s Manager, Simon Weaver, is a thoughtful guy and – just like his Opposite Number – what he has to say is always worth listening to. He wouldn’t offer any excuses for the loss at FGR but complained that his team had `found a way to lose’ there, rather than how to win. That’s quite an unusual statement in itself when you come to think about it. As far as today’s game is concerned, he looked back at the defeat in Lancashire last year and said:
“They scored a good goal and then put bodies behind the ball and made it really difficult for us. It was at a time where we did lack a bit of quality in the final third to prize teams open. We’ll be determined on Saturday and we know what we have to do. It pretty much is a six-pointer knowing a win can claw it back to five points. It would blow it wide open if we can get a win and then add to it after. It’ll definitely be a confidence boost. However, we need to defend better as a team than we did last week and be more cut throat in front of goal. Defensively at home in recent times we’ve done well. We’ll just be looking to take the game to Morecambe who are a very good side and have excelled this season. We now need to go on another run to really make it an exciting end to the season, it’s what we all want.”
It was overcast but dry in the White Rose County as the match kicked-off. The visitors from the seaside probably regretted not bringing their buckets and spades because the pitch looked like a ploughed field with sandy patches on it. The players and officials Took The Knee but the next time the home goalkeeper bent down, it was to pick the ball out of his net. The visitors immediately attacked down their left flank; the ball found its way to Carlos Mendes-Gomes and he took a shot which deflected off defender Will Smith past James Belshaw as John O’Sullivan followed-up to make sure the ball had crossed the line. Smith was probably the first Harrogate player to touch the ball after kick-off and his goal certainly occurred after less than forty seconds. Undismayed, the home team put some pressure on the men in the red shirts for the next few minutes, playing some quick, accurate stuff but never looking like they might threaten the Shrimps’ goal. Morecambe seemed content to defend and break quickly on the counter-attack. They could – and probably should – have gone further ahead after thirteen minutes. Sully was set-up perfectly by a sublime through-ball down the centre but Belshaw did brilliantly to rush from his goal and save the shot. The ball went loose to Aaron Wildig, whose shot was blacked only to fall to Carlos, whose instant strike hit Belfield’s left post with the goalkeeper stranded. Three minutes later, another lovely pass found Cole Stockton in the centre and once again, the Town goalkeeper performed a miracle to keep out his shot at the expense of a corner. With Nathaniel Knight-Percival playing well as centre half and Alex Kenyon looking as if he had never been out of the team with a tremendous display, Morecambe were imperious. They had further chances – such as when Captain Wildig turned and shot narrowly wide after 43 minutes. Altogether, though, their short-range passing and movement at times was a joy to watch and they were good value for their single goal lead at half time. For all their possession, the nearest Harrogate had come to scoring was when Aaron Martin headed over the top when well placed after half an hour and Jack Muldoon headed wide from a free-kick right at the death. Tellingly, though, Kyle Letheren had not had a single shot to save right from the start of the game. But for his opposite number at the other end of the pitch, the game could already have been well and truly dead and buried.
The second half was a scrappy affair, spoiled by a suddenly strong wind and some erratic refereeing by the Man in the Middle, Josh Smith. There could be no complaints, though, when he sent-off KP with fifteen minutes left. The central defender had received a justified yellow card during the first half. So when the ball came over his head as he was running back towards his own goal and he reached up and deflected it with his hand, we all knew what was coming next. This was one of the few incidents of note to report. Morecambe could have gone further ahead on 73 minutes when, following a mazy run, Carlos sent a fine cross over from the Morecambe left which O’Sullivan should have tapped home. He seemed to stand on the ball instead and the chance was lost. Even with a man advantage, Harrogate really never looked like equalising. The nearest they came was straight after KP had been dismissed: from a corner on their right, the ball was headed against Letheren’s right-hand post but bounced away to safety. Other than that, he didn’t have a save to make. Harrogate seemed to be relying on Dan Jones’ phenomenally long throws – nearly all of which the visiting goalkeeper caught confidently. Alternatively, Town seemed to hope that shots from George Thompson would get them out of the mire. His first one – after 55 minutes – almost hit the corner flag. His second – in injury time right at the end – went slightly closer to the target. But not much.
So that was it: a battling performance on the road with a depleted squad and one man down again for the final quarter of an hour. This gave Morecambe a double over their opponents today and the three points pushed them back up the table to sixth. Harrogate, meanwhile, slipped to thirteenth in League Two.
Harrogate Town: 1 James Belshaw; 2 Ryan Fallowfield; 3 Dan Jones (Y); 4 Josh Falkingham (C); 5 Will Smith; 7 George Thomson; 10 Aaron Martin (9 Mark Beck 73’); 18 Jack Muldoon; 20 Connor Hall; 28 Josh McPake (14 Brendan Kiernan 86’); 30 Simon Power.
Subs not used: 25 Melvin Minter; 6 Warren Burrell; 22 Edward Francis; 27 Jay Williams.
Morecambe: 1 Kyle Letheren; 2 Kelvin Mellor; 4 Nathaniel Knight-Percival (R); 8 Toumani Diagouraga; 6 Harry Davis; 22 Liam Gibson (Y); 9 Cole Stockton (Y) (21 Ryan Cooney 78’); 10 Aaron Wildig (C); 11 Carlos Mendes-Gomes (19 Liam McAlinden 81’); 16 John O’Sullivan (Y); 14 Alex Kenyon.
Subs not used: 12 Mark Halstead; 18 Ben Pringle 23 Freddie Price; 20 Alex Denny.
Ref: Josh Smith.
