Harrogate Town lost 2-1 to Tranmere Rovers, putting up yet another subpar showing as they suffered their third straight League Two loss.
James Daly’s fourth goal of the season gave the Sulphurites the lead after they got off to a respectable start in Saturday’s lunchtime match.
However, they can’t complain about the final score because they were utterly second best for nearly the whole last hour of the match.
Having only won one of their last seven league games, hosts Tranmere started the weekend lower in the standings than struggling Town.
They have also lost all of their games this season after giving up the lead, but they were able to snap that streak by exploiting yet another poor performance from a Harrogate squad that once again appeared woefully inadequate while in possession of the ball.
After a respectable start, Town took the lead on the fourteenth minute when their opponents were unable to adequately handle a right-wing free kick from Stephen Duke McKenna.
When Connor Jennings headed the ball only as far as James Daly, he was able to chest the ball down on the edge of the penalty area and loft an effort over the back-pedalling Tranmere goalkeeper and just under the crossbar. Rovers goalkeeper Luke McGee came a long way off his line in an attempt to claim that delivery.
In the seventeenth minute, Harrogate should have had the opportunity to increase their lead from the penalty spot as they attempted to capitalise on that early opener.
Duke-McKenna was obviously hauled out by the Rovers left-back after driving past Connor Wood inside the box. Referee Tom Reeves chose not to blow up for what was clearly a foul, however, partly due to the callous officiating of his assistance, who was standing only yards away from the action.
Town returned unfazed, and James Daly sent a nice cross that Matty Daly could only tip directly at McGee after skinning Lee O’Connor wide on the left.
However, the home team would have the remainder of the opening period. They started to gain control and, with the help of some careless Harrogate defending at a right-wing throw-in, they pulled even in the 25th minute.
O’Connor, Kristian Dennis, and the thrower found it too simple to play a one-two. Dennis was then able to move into space inside the Sulphurites’ box and take aim.
Additionally, a very cruel deflection wrong-footed James Belshaw and sent the ball into his net, this time by the heel of Jasper Moon, much like it did with the first goal they let up against AFC Wimbledon the previous time out.
Before the half, Tranmere put up a strong fight, with Sam Finley’s goal-bound attempt being deftly denied by Moon before Omari Patrick and Harvey Saunders missed the mark by a short margin.
Rovers continued to appear to be the more dangerous team in the early going of the second half.
As they had done during the closing stages of the first half, Harrogate continued to make life difficult for themselves by playing too many hopeful long balls forward to no-one in particular, and found themselves trapped deep in their own territory.
Despite seeing his side offering absolutely nothing as an attacking force and struggling to string more than a couple of passes together, Simon Weaver opted against changing either Town’s system or any of their personnel and they were inevitably punished in the 66th minute.
Jennings launched the ball forwards from midfield and found Patrick, who cut inside off the left and past Toby Sims, before bending a cultured finish beyond Belshaw and in off the upright.
The visitors raised their game slightly after falling behind – and making the substitutions which were needed 20 minutes earlier – and should have equalised with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining.
After a brilliant effort down the right, Duke-McKenna delivered a cross that substitute Josh March received within the six-yard box, but March was only able to stab the ball directly at McGee.
In the 84th minute, Town managed to withstand the most intense of goalmouth scrambles. Patrick’s attempt was eventually stopped on the goal-line by Dean Cornelius, and March was incredibly fortunate to avoid giving away a penalty for a reckless lunge on Chris Merrie.
Dennis made a fantastic save against Belshaw in stoppage time, but Rovers had already done enough. Jennings then came close to giving the home team a third goal when he shot just wide of the mark.
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