Yorkshire | Harrogate Town lose against Crawley

Harrogate Town 0 - 1 Crawley Town

Crawley secured their first victory since dropping out of League One with a hard-fought win at Harrogate.

Author | Jay Dean

Stadium | Exercise Stadium

Scott Lindsey’s side had collected only two points from their opening six games but found a breakthrough courtesy of Reece Brown’s well-taken strike in the first half.

It was a disappointment afternoon for Harrogate. They were strong favourites here and they would have expected a home win. 

A closer analysis of what happened

The visitors began brightly, with Dion Pereira shooting wide, Brown flashing an effort over and Harry McKirdy forcing James Belshaw into a save, before Harrogate’s Shawn McCoulsky went close at the other end.

Brown eventually broke the deadlock three minutes before the interval, curling home from the edge of the area. McKirdy almost doubled the advantage early in the second half but lifted his effort over the bar, while Ellis Taylor struck a post in reply as Harrogate pressed for an equaliser.

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Stephen Duke-McKenna tested Crawley goalkeeper Harry Davies and McKirdy was denied by Belshaw after breaking clear, as the visitors continued to threaten.

Debutant Ryan Loft was dismissed late on after receiving two bookings, but Crawley held firm to claim a much-needed win.

Concerns about attendances

After the match, discussion around Harrogate's attendance seemed to dominate the post match reaction.

Patrick is a local and regular attendee, he said: "Sadly, Harrogate just isn't a football town. That's why our attendances are often low."

Jeffrey added: "We need to start doing more. Going into local schools would be a start. The kids are the future and that's how we can build a proper football culture."

Ryan Thompson told us: "Bring schools in, boost local business ties and improve the atmosphere with fan zones and live music. That way, more people will come and stay.”