Simon Weaver: Harrogate do not play like Manchester City but players do care

Posted Saturday, April 08, 2023 by PA

Harrogate manager Simon Weaver admitted his players might fall way short of being Manchester City standard but insisted they are showing the Wetherby Road faithful that they care after drawing with AFC Wimbledon.

Relegation-threatened Harrogate fought back from 2-0 down following an Ethan Chislett brace for the visitors to snatch an unlikely draw courtesy of Luke Armstrong’s 89th-minute reply and Levi Sutton’s equaliser deep into stoppage time.

Sutton’s first goal for the club since a January move from Bradford kept Harrogate two points above the drop zone, with Weaver reasoning: “There have been games this season when we’ve played good football and lost but we just had to stick in this match to get that elation at the end.

“There were moments before then that helped us stay in it as well like Warren Burrell’s block that prevented a certain goal and, while we’ve conceded a few this season, it was our turn to get the late goals.

“The players did not accept they were defeated at 2-0 down and kept believing in themselves and everyone could see how much getting a result from this game meant to them, because we kept pouring forward.

“The fans were giving us some stick and maybe that’s a sign of how the club has evolved because they go through the full spectrum of emotions like we do.

“We have to fight, snarl and scrap for every point here and, while we might not exhilarate the Harrogate public with Manchester City-style football, I hope that some of them that were giving us stick have gone home knowing they have a team of players that care.”

Away boss Johnnie Jackson, meanwhile, blasted his side’s “weak mentality” after they “conspired” to make it just one win from their last 14 games.

“We conceded from a corner when time was up and I don’t know how we have conspired not to win that game,” he reflected.

“For 70 minutes, it was an outstanding performance and the players had given everything we had asked for.

“We had completely dominated the game and, then, we had to make changes because some players were running out of legs or getting cramp and we looked a bit disjointed.

“We had done more than enough to win the game up to the point, but we haven’t and that comes down to having a weak mentality.

“It was nothing to do with physical or technical ability. Despite the disappointment, though, we’re not walking away with a defeat and we have to remember that, for 80 or 90 per cent of the game, we were really good.

“People might not want to hear that, but it’s the truth and we didn’t get what we deserved.”