Simon Weaver praises ‘grown-up’ Harrogate after win at Doncaster

Simon Weaver praised his “grown-up” Harrogate Town side as he refused to allow want-away striker Luke Armstrong’s future to overshadow their opening day win at Doncaster Rovers.

Sought-after Armstrong asked not to be involved in the Yorkshire derby as he seeks to secure a move away.

But Town pressed on without the forward and his stand-in Jack Muldoon scored a second-half penalty to secure the 1-0 win.

“We deserved the win,” manager Weaver said. “We knew it would be tough and the crowd got right behind their new manager, but we had an amazing following as well and they have gone away happy and we are ecstatic to get a win for them.

“It was a proper grown-up performance from us. We closed down with intensity and looked composed and a threat on the ball.”

Speaking on Armstrong – who has attracted interest from Scotland and Leagues One and Two – Weaver said: “We have had offers and interest in him and we’ve also offered him a renewed three-year contract because we feel he deserved that as he’s been a fantastic player who we’ve loved having around.

“But, on Thursday, he came to us with his agent and told us that he wanted to go and didn’t think he’d be in the right mindset to play in this game.

“That was disappointing but Jack Muldoon stepped into the breach and can be proud of his efforts.

“Also, if Luke is to leave, two things also need to happen – we need to receive a significant fee and find a replacement for him.”

Grant McCann was disappointed in the performance from both his side and the referee as his return to Rovers ended in defeat.

McCann was critical of referee Scott Tallis’ decision to award Harrogate the spot kick when Joseph Olowu was adjudged to have fouled Abraham Odoh and also felt Rovers themselves should have had penalties for fouls on Tommy Rowe and Tyler Roberts.

He said: “I thought we were poor in the first half. We just weren’t quite getting there to everything.

“Credit to Harrogate, I thought they were better than us in the first half and that’s disappointing for me to say.

“I knew it was going to take time but I didn’t expect the team to be that poor in the first half. We were way off it in every aspect of our game.

“You don’t win football games if you don’t get the basics right. Second half we showed more fight but nowhere near the levels we can be.

“Their penalty was really disappointing for us because Joseph Olowu clearly takes the ball and it deviates to the right. It’s a disappointing day for us.”