Simon Weaver hails ‘breakthrough moment’ for Harrogate loanee Calum Kavanagh

Harrogate manager Simon Weaver hailed a “real breakthrough moment” for on-loan Middlesbrough teenager Calum Kavanagh after his stoppage-time header rescued a point against Walsall.

The hosts had gone behind to Conor Wilkinson’s fifth goal in six games, converted from the penalty spot, on the hour.

But Kavanagh, 18, headed in his first senior goal in the fourth minute of added-on time to secure a 1-1 draw for the Sulphurites.

The equaliser prevented Harrogate from suffering four straight defeats for the first time this season.

Weaver said: “I am so pleased for young Calum. It was a real breakthrough moment for him and it stopped the rot for us.

“It was a valuable point and, in terms of the chances we created, I thought we were the more progressive and aggressive team.

“I was really pleased that the players heads didn’t drop and that they kept going to get something out of the game. Your shoulders can droop when you’ve been on a run of defeats and you can start feeling sorry for yourselves but they didn’t and played with belief right until the end.

“We were a bit cagey at the start but, after that, Ryan Fallowfield pressing high and nearly scoring got us on the front foot.”

On the decision to award a penalty when keeper Mark Oxley was adjudged to have grabbed Saddlers substitute Devante Rodney from a Donervon Daniels long throw, Weaver added: “I can see why he gave it, but I would like to see it again.”

Despite seeing his team stretch their unbeaten run to a sixth game, Walsall boss Michael Flynn described his team’s game management as “criminal” as he seethed at the nature of the last-gasp equaliser.

“We gave the points away,” he fumed. “It boiled down to game management and not seeing the game out was criminal.

“It’s not rocket science. We had a free kick on the halfway line and I was shouting to put it in the corner, but we didn’t.

“It was a poor free kick and, then, two of our players ran into each other because there was no communication, which led to an easy cross into our box that we didn’t stop and the smallest striker on the pitch headed in an equaliser because he was hungry to score.

“That’s not good enough because we had nine experienced players out there, but it’s maybe why the club are down in the bottom part of the table.

“I have just let the players have it in the changing room and they are hurting. We also tried our best to give them a goal in the first half.

“It was crazy, but we are six unbeaten and it was a point on the road. It’s just the manner in which we threw away the other two points that is so frustrating but, in all honesty, a draw was a fair result.”