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31
Aug 2023
Hammering can't hide how far Harrogate have come
Ten years ago today, Harrogate Town played Stockport County in the National League North.
Their next fixtures were against Histon, Stalybridge Celtic and Gainsborough Trinity.
Last night they entertained Blackburn Rovers, one of only seven teams ever to win the Premier League, in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
It was another one of those occasions that highlighted how far the club has come.
Full stands and optimism before kick-off at Wetherby Road.
Manager Simon Weaver, who was in charge back in 2013 and has since overseen the side’s rise to the English Football League, spoke before the match about relishing the underdog tag and taking the game by the scruff of the neck.
It was, in theory, Town’s first ever competitive fixture against a Championship side but in reality it was anything but as Rovers’ movement caused problems from the start and within 13 minutes they had opened up a 2-0 lead.
Business was brisk at the pie stall.
A rare Harrogate attack.
Their supremacy came despite the absence of most first team regulars, including 19-year-old Harrogate-born Harry Leonard, who scored in Rovers’ 2-1 defeat of West Brom in the opening match of the season.
Town also left out many first team players, a perplexing decision given the opportunity at stake — not to mention the ticket prices. They had a few chances, hitting the woodwork after about half an hour, but the atmosphere soon muted and by half-time they were 4-0 down.
Town star striker Luke Armstrong was brought on but a penalty extended Rovers' lead to 5-0 and when it became 6-0 with more than 20 minutes another milestone loomed in the shape of a record defeat in the club's league era.
The start of a busy night for the scoreboard.
When it became eight, the gallows humour set in with the home fans chanting 'this is embarrassing'. The Beatles sang about 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire — there appeared to be more than that in the Harrogate defence.
The 2,653 crowd will have swelled the club's coffers — but a historic night ended in painful fashion.
Most fans realised this was a milestone match in the club’s history and a place in the last 32 alongside the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal was always as likely as a super blue moon. But the 8-0 scoreline left little scope for pride on what should have been a celebratory night.
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