Harrogate stunned by Crewe comeback

Posted Sunday, February 19, 2023 by PA

Substitute Tariq Uwakwe snatched an unlikely point at Harrogate with his first goal for Crewe.

The ex-Chelsea under-21 hopeful, who had not netted in 38 previous outings for the Railwaymen, secured a 2-2 draw in the 89th minute.

His team-mate Dan Agyei had only reduced the deficit from the penalty spot six minutes earlier after Jack Muldoon and Kazeem Olaigbe had put the hosts in the ascendancy.

Harrogate showed the greater first-half attacking enterprise with Anthony O’Connor’s header and a Luke Armstrong follow-up effort requiring a smart double save from visiting keeper David Richards.

An Olaigbe attempt was then blocked on the line by a cluster of Crewe bodies before the on-loan Southampton winger’s deft flick teed up Muldoon for a 15-yard opportunity that the ex-Lincoln striker drilled inside Richards’ left-hand upright in the 34th minute.

Home keeper Mark Oxley preserved that lead going into the break by reacting brilliantly to deny Elliott Nevitt and Callum Ainley in quick succession.

The Sulphurites doubled their advantage in the 52nd minute when Matty Foulds’ inswinging corner from the right was headed out by Connor O’Riordan only for Olaigbe to drill a firm 15-yard drive home through a crowded penalty box.

But Agyei claimed his ninth goal of the season, placing to Oxley’s right and sending him the wrong way from the penalty spot having had his heels clipped by O’Connor, and Uwakwe then spun in the box and fired in from 10 yards despite Warren Burrell’s attempt to clear off the line.