Harrogate Town adapted well last season to League Two football. They eventually finished in a creditable 17th place.
This season has seen The Sulphurites start in sparkling form and they sit a comfortable 3rd in the table behind Forest Green and Bradford City.
Yesterday, the North Yorkshire side travelled to Derbyshire to face a Mansfield Town side who were 7th ahead on kick-off.
Harrogate fell behind to a quick goal from the home side, Rhys Oates (3′) putting The Stags ahead. However, Harrogate were soon back in the game with Luke Armstrong (5′) levelling affairs.
Just before the referee blew for the half, it got worse for The Stags with Jack Muldoon (45+1′) putting Harrogate in the driving seat at half-time.
Mansfield were still very much in the game but a madcap two minutes saw the home side throw the game away.
First, they were reduced to ten men with Ollie Clarke (73′) getting a straight red. A minute later Stephen Quinn (74′) followed him down the tunnel.
George Thompson (81′) rubbed salt in Mansfield’s wounds with Harrogate’s third of the afternoon. That effectively ended the game -Harrogate taking all three points back to North Yorkshire with the 3-1 win.
Here are three Harrogate Town players who stood out in a bad-tempered affair vs Mansfield.
Luke Armstrong – WhoScored rating 9.38 MOTM
It was a great performance by Armstrong in how he led the frontline at times against Mansfield Town.
Obviously, the headline output of goal and an assist will be what catches the eye but his game was more than that.
He fashioned four shots during the game, three of these were on target with one of them blocked. He also showed his strength in the air, winning 13 headers in the game.
He also showed strength in the tackles, winning all three of the tackles he contested as well as getting back to make a clearance.
George Thomson – WhoScored rating 9.09
Like Luke Armstrong, Thomson was another Harrogate player with a goal and an assist.
Thomson saw a lot of the ball (6.5%) on the right of a midfield four and completed a high ratio (80%) of his passes. Of his 30 pass attempts, 24 were completed and two of these were key passes leading to chances for others.
He was another that did not shirk his duties elsewhere and won both tackles he went for as well as making three clearances and winning four headers – including one when defending.
A great performance and one that George Thomson can take into his next game.
Jack Muldoon – WhoScored rating 7.73
Veteran striker Muldoon scored his second of the season to give The Sulphirites a vital lead going into half-time. This goal was part of the two shots he had on target from three attempts.
His passing accuracy (58%) was a little off and he only managed to complete 11 of 19 attempts as he looked to bring others into the game.
Still, he put himself about and was a concern for the Mansfield defence before he was substituted on 87 minutes.
A good game from a striker who will always be in and around the goals in a Harrogate side that is performing well.
Data derived from the Mansfield Town v Harrogate Town match on the WhoScored website
