BEACHBOYS’ PRIDE IS NOT DENTED BY TOWN
WITH THE clock running down, the song that has accompanied Concord Rangers through their successes over the years, drifted down from Wembley’s Royal Box.
“You are my Concord, my only Concord…you make me happy, when skies are grey…”
They were certainly that high above the arch as the rain teamed down on an unusually chilly May day for the game that was won by Harrogate captain Josh Falkingham.
But for the Beachboys and their loyal fans, led by the few committee members they were allowed at the behind closed doors game, there was plenty to be happy about even in defeat.
At the final whistle, boss Danny Scopes gathered his dejected players in a huddle in the centre of the pitch. No doubt he would have been telling them just how proud he was of their efforts in testing circumstances.
Concord were playing their first competitive game since mid-February while Town came into the final on the back of a thrilling 5-4 win over Cambridge United.
In the build-up, Scopes said he wanted his players to show the Concord DNA and why they have consistently punched above their weight. Despite their challenges they had to face, they defended stoically throughout, keeper Chris Haigh excelling with a series of top saves that would have had Harrogate worrying whether they would ever breakthrough.
Concord’s resistance only broke on 76 minutes when Jack Muldoon’s low shot cannoned back off the post into the path of Falkingham who slammed in.
It meant Harrogate have secured their place in the sport round of pub quizzes up and down the country. Simon Weaver’s side are the first Football League club to win Non-League’s most prestigious cup competition.
It was their second Wembley win in nine months. Both came without fans in the ground. Of course it’s a sign of the times that the 201920 final nearly a year after it would have been in normal seasons and eight months after the semi-finals.
In truth, Harrogate deserved their victory and you could see just how it meant to their players. Before the game they came onto the pitch, phones out, enjoying their surroundings. Many have done the hard yards in Non-League at the likes of Biggleswade, FC United and Tamworth. Their status is as an EFL club but their roots are Non-League.
Weaver named seven starters from the squad that won at Wembley against Notts County to secure promotion into the Football League for the first time in their history.
A few weeks later they beat the Magpies again and book their unique piece of history by becoming the first EFL club to reach an FA Trophy final.
But the fact they arrived in their stride ahead of this one, while National League South Concord had a standing start with just training games, showed the size of the NonLeaguers task.
Time and again, Haigh kept them level. Denying Will Smith, Muldoon from pointblank range and a good low stop to deny evergreen striker Jon Stead, 38.
Haigh has been one of the stars of Concord’s Trophy run with some vital penalty saves including in a penalty shootout against Leamington and in the quarter-final tie against Royston Town.
His best two came either side of the break. A brilliant reaction save with his right leg to keep out Stead’s deflected drive and, later, flying at full stretch to push away George Thomson’s scissor-kick.
It’s 13 years since Scopes was manager when they won the Essex Senior League with now Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley as his assistant.
They became joint-managers after that, winning promotion to Step 3 before Scopes stepped aside to concentrate on his son’s football sides while Cowley, and brother Nicky, took the Beachboys to Step 2. Scopes stayed around the club, however, and returned to the dug-out as boss in 2019.
While Harrogate were enjoying the better chances, Concord’s determination to defend with everything they had was exactly what Scopes had called for, repelling a succession of corners and scrambling loose balls clear.
They did have a big penalty
shout in the first half when Lamar Reynolds went down in the box when challenged by Smith and Jack Cawley couldn’t keep down a golden chance in the second half.
Harrogate finished the game with 11 players on the pitch that had played in the 19-20 run. But it was fitting Falkingham scored the decisive goal. The midfielder epitomises Weaver’s hard-working side and how he enjoyed the ball rippling the net at Wembley. It came from Muldoon’s marauding, driving, run before the shot rattled the frame of the goal where Falkingham tucked in the rebound.
It caps Harrogate’s time in Non-League with a promotion-Trophy double. For Concord, there was still plenty to be happy about.
STAR MAN: Chris Haigh (Concord) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★
REFEREE: Peter Bankes