Eastwood Town 2 Harrogate Town 0 Att 263
Two goals in the first twenty minutes condemned Harrogate to a defeat at Coronation Park.
Adam Nowakowski was drafted in as a makeshift central defender while Jake Picton served his one match suspension.
After some early Harrogate pressure,Eastwood countered with Chris Elliott having to make a fine save from Jon D’Laryea.
It took only five minutes for Eastwood to take the lead when the Town defence failed to cut out a through ball and Lee Stevenson beat Elliott from close range.
Eastwood continued to press and the Town defence were constantly troubled by long throws from Adrian Hawes.
Harrogate’s Wayne Phillips was proving a thorn in Eastwood’s side,and he produced a stinging drive that John Danby in the home goal could only parry for a corner.
However,on the twenty minute mark,ex Town player Peter Knox split the visiting defence with a superb through ball and Stevenson netted his second with a powerful cross shot.
The one way traffic continued with Matt Rhead skimming the crossbar,and Knox shooting narrowly wide.
With half time imminent, Harrogate could have pulled one back when Ciaran Toner’s free kick was headed back across the goal, but Gary King headed over from close range.
Early in the second half Chibuzor Chilaka and Kyle Hadley replaced King and John Leonard as Harrogate looked for a way back into the game.
Eastwood continued to make much of the running prompted by the inventive sub Lindon Meikle.
Harrogate driven on by the ever industrious Toner, began to have more of the game as Eastwood took their foot off the gas.
Apart from a fine pull down and shot from Nowakowski,the visitors never really looked like converting their late pressure into goals.
John Harrison,
Match Secretary,
Harrogate Town F C.
