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Spa waters, tea at Bettys and strolls in the Yorkshire Dales. Harrogate has just become League Two’s family-friendly weekend away of choice when fans return to football grounds.
The town’s football club are in the Football League for the first time in their history – the 144th different club to play there since it started in 1888 – and they achieved it at the expense of one of its founder members.
There was no immediate redemption for Notts County, who painfully lost their League status for the first time amid financial chaos last year. Another year touring the National League awaits them and it will hurt.
Harrogate Town are to make their first foray into the Football League after winning at Wembley
The Yorkshire club turned on the style in the empty stadium and defeated Notts County
But County could have no complaints. Harrogate glimpsed their chance to make history, went out and seized it at an eerily-empty Wembley.
An FA Cup final without a crowd is one thing – Arsenal and Chelsea will be back again soon enough – but for clubs at this level, it feels as though a truly special occasion has been robbed from them.
Town, on their first-ever visit to the national stadium, felt no trepidation. Goals by George Thomson, Connor Hall and Jack Diamond saw Harrogate spring into the fourth tier and deservedly so.
They dominated the first-half but scored only twice and it looked like they may regret that when Callum Roberts replied for County just after half-time. But Harrogate redoubled their efforts and Diamond made sure.
Now the hard work begins for owner Irving Weaver, who made his fortune in property, and his son, the manager Simon Weaver. The League Two season begins in just six weeks.
Most pressing will be ripping up the artificial pitch at their Wetherby Road ground and seeding a grass one. EFL rules prohibit the 4G surfaces. There’s little time to reinforce the squad for League Two either.
Unhappy when the curtailment of the National League season saw Barrow promoted automatically – Harrogate believed they could have made up the four points they trailed the Cumbrians – the dream has come true through the play-offs instead.
Harrogate had finished second in the National League standings, a place ahead of Notts County. The gap between them was only three points or, in this Covid world of mathematical averages, 0.12 of a point.
It suggested a nip and tuck game with little between the sides. The first-half, however, proved anything but. Harrogate completely dominated, scored twice and should have had at least one more.
George Thomson opened the scoring for the men in yellow after just five minutes played
The Yorkshire side surged from the blocks and led inside five minutes. Left-back Warren Burrell switched the play to Ryan Fallowfield on the right and he was afforded plenty of both time and space.
He might have controlled and looked up but had the presence of mind to cross first-time, a low ball that Thomson connected with at the near post with just enough power to slide it under keeper Sam Slocombe.
Any hope that goal might have awoken County from their defensive slumber proved misguided. Moments later, Aaron Martin was played through by a ball over the top, getting the wrong side of Ben Turner, but his low effort slipped wide.
A similar route into the County box a few minutes later saw Jack Muldoon hook over from Josh Falkingham’s dinked free-kick. Ardley shouted at his defence from the County technical area – it was an unacceptable start.
In normal circumstances, County would have been backed on their first visit to Wembley in 24 years by anything up to 30,000 supporters. Surely they wouldn’t have tolerated such a slapdash start.
It got worse just before the half-hour. Joel Bagan was drawn into a foul right on the edge of his box after Fallowfield flicked the ball beyond him.
Thomson fizzed the free-kick in and Hall got goalside of Turner at the back post, stretching out a boot to guide the ball home with Martin also charging in. In fairness to Turner, he was left marking two men. Harrogate were in dreamland.
At least County got back to the dressing room only two in arrears. Jack Diamond was also played into the clear but couldn’t angle his dinked shot on target.
The ball was floated over to the back post where Connor Hall was sliding in to pounce
Hall made connection and slotted the ball home to score Harrogate’s second of the match
And there was an enormous let-off just before half-time. County failed to clear a free-kick which was returned by two headed flick-ons, the ball breaking to Martin just a few yards out. Somehow, his shot rattled the post.
One Notts County fan tweeted at the interval that the only positive was at least they couldn’t concede again for 15 minutes. But they earned themselves a true lifeline within seconds of the restart.
Winning a free-kick right on the edge of the Harrogate box, Roberts won the debate with the just-introduced substitute Enzio Boldewijn and stepped up.
His left-footed strike was absolutely perfect, curled around the wall and past keeper James Belshaw in a flash. It was the former Newcastle United winger’s fifth goal in five games either side of lockdown.
Roberts was then booked for a cynical foul on Diamond but his next contribution were better. Weaving his way along the edge of the Harrogate box, he curled an effort fractionally wide.
Jack Diamond celebrates after scoring Town’s third and wrapping up victory at Wembley
Diamond soaked up the occasion by placing the silverware on his head during celebrations
But Harrogate weathered the storm and countered with devastating effect 20 minutes from time.
Muldoon was slipped clear down the right side, bursting away into space to cross low to the near post. This time it was Sunderland loanee Diamond who read the intentions, rolling the ball across Slocombe and home.
County needed to mustered something and Belshaw, a boyhood Notts County fan, saved sharply from Wes Thomas before Michael Doyle’s rebound was blocked.
But the third goal made things comfortable for Harrogate and Jon Stead, a County player for four years, almost added a fourth in stoppage time but his shot grazed the post.
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