Harrogate Town completed their first double of the season when they defeated bottom club Chorley 0-2 at Victory Park.
The Town starting line up was unchanged from the side which defeated Hartlepool United on Boxing Day.
After some initial sparring, it was the visitors who took the initiative, forcing a brace of corners, which ended with Warren Burrell ballooning the ball high over the home crossbar.
The “Magpie’s” first attack saw a lucky rebound fall into the path of Marcus Carver, but he shot straight into the arms of James Belshaw from twentyfive yards.
Halfway through the half, Town won a free kick when Lewis Baines brought down Jonathan Stead and from Josh Falkingham’s delivery,Jack Muldoon tested home keeper, Matt Urwin, with a glancing header.
Five minutes later,Town took the lead when Muldoon ran onto a through ball from Connor Hall
And shot past Urwin to score via the inside of the far post.
The Magpie’s best chance of the half came when Belshaw had to dive full length to turn Carver’s snap shot round the post to concede a corner.
The first twenty minutes after the break were territorially even,although the standard of football was scrappy with the ball spending a lot of time in the air.
However,Harrogate should have increased their lead on sixtyfive minutes when Urwin managed to block Muldoon’s close range shot,but Jack Diamond’s follow up was deflected over the bar.
Two minutes later,Town did double their lead when Urwin failed to cut out Burrell’s clearance and Stead squeezed the ball in from an acute angle.
Town maintained their pressure and Urwin saved well from Diamond at the near post,while at the other end Chorley made one last effort and sub,Ntumba Massanka,brought out a fine diving save from Belshaw with a powerful header from Matt Challoner’s right wing cross.
Town,
Belshaw,Burrell,W Smith,Hall,Falkingham,Kerry,Bradley,Emmett(Thomson 88),Stead,Muldoon,Diamond.
Unused subs,Cracknell,Kiernan,G Smith Fallowfield.
Scorers,Muldoon 27,Stead 67. Booked Stead.
Chorley,
Urwin,Challoner,Blakeman(Massanka 73),Teague,Meppen-Walters,A Newby,Carver,Smith,Baines,Notei(E Newby 63),Holroyd(Dodds 73)
Unused subs,O’Keefe,Ross. Att.1077
Referee T Parsons
