On-loan Rangers winger Josh McPake nets the winner for Harrogate over Bradford

Posted Saturday, April 17, 2021 by PA

On-loan Rangers winger Josh McPake’s second goal in as many games earned Harrogate a first win in eight matches.

McPake struck after 89 minutes to clinch a 2-1 home win over Bradford just four days after earning Simon Weaver’s side a share of the spoils with his equaliser in a 2-2 draw against Leyton Orient.

The hosts had earlier taken a first-half lead courtesy of Jack Muldoon’s 13th goal of the season before Andy Cook levelled for the Bantams, whose play-off aspirations grew fainter after McPake’s winner.

Clayton Donaldson, Finn Cousin-Dawson and Cook all went close to opening the scoring for the visitors before Muldoon latched on to a lofted pass by George Thomson through the right channel and fired across goal into the bottom corner from 10 yards.

After the break, Thomson rattled the crossbar with a fierce drive before the Bantams levelled with 72 minutes gone when a positive forward burst by substitute Ollie Crankshaw teed up Cook, who caressed a perfectly-placed shot into Joe Cracknell’s bottom-left corner from 15 yards.

But McPake went on to settle matters when he charged on to Muldoon’s pass and cut inside from the left before bending an excellent effort into Richard O’Donnell’s bottom-left corner.