Muldoon weaves the magic as Town come from behind

JACK MULDOON could be the man to fire Harrogate Town to a first Wembley appearance after his double helped the Yorkshire side advance to the third round.

And Town boss Simon Weaver admitted he was glad to have his top scorer back in the starting XI having used him as a substitute in the previous two league matches.

“Jack had to have a breather of late,” said Weaver. “But he came back recharged and raring to go. I think we have been playing well in previous games even though we have not been winning. Today we were sharp at both ends of the pitch and the players overall were superb. We have not been that close to getting to Wembley before, so to get to the final would be really exciting for Harrogate.”

The visitors were facing a sorry trip back to North Yorkshire when

Mark Beck saw his early penalty saved by home keeper Mitch Walker and Inih Effiong then fired home his tenth goal of the season just a few minutes later.

However, Town hit back and equalised two minutes later when Muldoon swept home Callum Howe’s knock down.

Beck’s afternoon went from bad to worse when he misdirected his header from Muldoon’s cross, but his strike partner saved his blushes with the winner.

Muldoon nipped in ahead of his marker to poke George Thomson’s cross in between Walker and his near post. Liam Kitching almost sealed the win, only to be denied by Walker’s brave block on the line, however Town held on to seal their progress. Dover boss Andy Hessenthaler is now focused on securing his side’s National League safety. “It was a scrappy game and Harrogate deserved to win,” he said. “I won’t be too critical of the players and I have already forgotten about this game.”

STAR MAN: Jack Muldoon (Harrogate) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★