Simon Weaver delighted with ‘strong performance’ from new-look Harrogate

Posted Sunday, July 31, 2022 by PA

Jubilant Harrogate boss Simon Weaver hailed his new-look team following a thumping 3-0 opening-day victory over Swindon.

Weaver included seven summer signings in his starting XI, including on-loan Huddersfield midfielder Matty Daly, who marked his debut with a spectacular strike in between efforts from Alex Pattison and Jack Muldoon.

The visitors, meanwhile, saw their impressive record of winning their opening game during the last eight seasons end in emphatic fashion, with Ben Gladwin also guilty of hitting a post from the penalty spot as his team trailed 2-0 midway through the second half.

Long-serving home chief Weaver enthused: “There were so many changes to the line-up and, I won’t lie, there were butterflies in my stomach as we went down the tunnel before the game because you want everyone to settle in as soon as possible.

“I thought all the players made great contributions. It was a strong performance and a good balance between being defensive and trying to get forward, while being patient and a solid unit.

“Winning 3-0 against Swindon looks a convincing scoreline and I thought it was a well-deserved win, but you can’t switch off against a team as good as them.

“They have some top players and we were fully aware of their threats, so to keep a clean sheet all of our back three had to defend their areas really well to deny them opportunities to score.

“We are trying to build a fanbase here and we know people are still on holiday but, hopefully, a scoreline like this will encourage more people to come in the future.

“We’re not going to get carried away with one result but everybody involved can enjoy their weekend now.”

Scott Lindsey could draw few positives from his first game in charge of last season’s play-off semi-finalists after taking over from Ben Garner at the Swindon helm.

“It feels like the end of the world,” he confessed. “It’s obviously not but I’m very disappointed.

“We started really well and created chances in the first half, but there were moments in the game when we defended poorly.

“We turned the ball over too many times in the middle of the park and tried to pass through that area of the pitch when the pass wasn’t on, which is how they scored their second goal.

“We have to learn from that. We still carried on going at them at the top end of the pitch even at 3-0 down and I don’t think we gave up.

“It would also have been a different game if Ben Gladwin had stuck the penalty away, but it was a bad day at the office in my first game as manager. Is the season going to be defined by one day, though? No, although we know we have to do better.

“We have to be more aggressive defensively to stop people counter-attacking us as they did.”