Thompson’s corner special lifts mood at Sulphurites

SIMON Weaver hopes the tough times are behind Harrogate as they ended a run of seven games without a victory by thrashing Scunthorpe.

George Thompson curled the Sulphurites in front directly from a corner midway through the first half, before Jack Diamond and Will Smith wrapped things up for the visitors after the break.

Town boss Weaver said: “It’s a relief to get back to winning ways. I’m delighted for the players – I thought everyone put in a really honest shift and showed the required energy and craft.

“There are no easy games in the Football League, Scunthorpe are fighting for their lives, so there was a lot at stake. I’m glad we got through it.

“We scored three, but we could have had more. We were guilty of missing a few chances, but it’s still a convincing scoreline.”

Although Alex Pattison was a whisker away from giving Town the lead inside the opening 40 seconds, Scunthorpe were the better side until falling behind.

But despite some tidy build-up play, they lacked a cutting edge with Tyrese Sinclair and Joe Nuttall wasting chances.

Thompson’s corner gave the visitors the lead in the 23rd minute, and they should have doubled their lead a minute before the break when Diamond missed the target when it seemed easier to score.

The midfielder made amends just after the hour mark, beating his man before firing home a finish from inside the penalty area.

After play had been held up briefly following the entry of a couple of disgruntled Scunthorpe fans to the perimeter of the pitch, Harrogate added a third in the 81st minute, with Smith heading home from a corner.

Scunthorpe manager Keith Hill felt the second goal was the killer. He said: “I was pleased with the first-half performance, to be 1-0 down at half-time was disappointing.

“But after the second goal it dissipated into chaos, the players’ confidence and belief was gone and their performance levels dropped.

“I’m asking them to show courage when they’re down in the future, and learn from those experiences.

“The second goal killed the game – you could see the difference in body language.”