A brilliant second half fightback ,saw Harrogate Town come back from a goal down to defeat Barrow 4-2.
Town made two changes from Saturday’s line up, with Jack Muldoon replacing Jordan Thewlis and Ryan Fallowfield came back into defence, while Kelvin Langmead moved onto the subs bench.
Liam Kitching had an early chance to open Town’s account when he ran onto Josh Falkingham’s through ball, but Andrew Firth made a fine block to keep his goal intact.
The Cumbrians hit back and John Rooney was just over with a dipping volley after intercepting Kitching’s lofted clearance.
In a game that took time to catch fire, Barrow’s Rhys Norrington-Davies, threatened again when his shot was deflected to James Belshaw, but soon afterwards,another deflection gave Barrow the lead.
Fallowfield managed to stop a Barrow raid but Rooney picked up the loose ball on the edge of the area and his strike deflected past Belshaw.
On the stroke of half time, Town had a good chance to level when Joe Leesley’s cross picked out Mark Beck in front of goal,but the tall striker could only direct his header back across goal.
The half time team talk certainly worked wonders for Town,because a three goal’s in five minutes burst, early in the second period altered the whole complexion of the game.
On fiftythree minutes,a wicked low cross from Leesley evaded the onrushing Muldoon, but Barrow’s,Kyle Jameson, could only divert the ball into his own net.
Three minutes later, Jack Emmett made ground down the right and found Muldoon inside the area and he lashed a tremendous cross shot past the helpless Firth.
Even better was to follow two minutes later when skipper, Falkingham, picked up a weak clearance by Firth and rifled in from the edge of the area.
Town still weren’t finished, because ten minutes later another superb free kick from Leesley enabled Beck to slide in at the far post for Town’s fourth goal.
Barrow threw on all three subs in an attempt to claw something back from the game and Warren Burrell denied them a goal when he diverted, Jack Hindle’s, shot over the bar.
Barrow,however, still had one last shot in their locker and reduced the deficit with thirteen minutes left when Tyler Smith glanced in an header from Erico Sousa’s free kick.
Town played out the rest of the game without further alarms and the large crowd departed homewards,with their appetites no doubt whetted, for Saturday’s home clash against Chesterfield.
Town
Belshaw,Fallowfield(Langmead 84),Falkingham,Howe,Burrell,Thomson,Emmett(Kerry 88),Beck(Williams 85),Leesley,Muldoon,Kitching.
Unused subs,Cracknell,Agnew.
Scorers, Jameson O G 53,Muldoon 56,Falkingham 58,Beck 68. Att.1268
Man of the Match Leesley.
Barrow
Firth,Brown,Jones,Taylor,Rooney,Kay(Burgess 61),Mulholland(Hindle 61),Smith,Jameson,Molyneux,(Sousa 61),Norrington-Davies
Unused subs,Wilson,Barthram.
Scorers,Rooney 32,Smith 77. Booked Kay,Jones
Referee M Edwards
By John Harrison,
@JohnHar59276371
