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22
Mar
Harrogate Railway 18-year-old named Player of the Month
February was a month of ups and downs for Harrogate Railway men’s first team. Two wins, one draw, and three losses saw the club fluctuating from 11th to 12th place.
The standout performer facross the six games was 18-year-old Harris Eggleston, who was named Player of the Month for February.
The Stray Ferret spoke to Eggleston to find out how he felt about the honour.
He said:
It feels good. I’ve played well in February.
There were a lot of contenders because quite a few players played pretty well this month, but I just think everything kind of came together for me this month and it’s why I’ve won it.
I hadn’t scored or assisted much prior, and then in February I scored and assisted quite a few times.
Having picked up an injury during pre-season and missed some of the early games, the winger only managed two goals until the end of January. In February, he scored three.
Eggleston, who wears the number seven, told us his main attributes are pace and dribbling. His dynamic nature makes it difficult for fullbacks to deal with him.
He told us about his personal highlights during the month:
I think the game against Dronfield away was my best performance of the month. I played really well in the first half and scored just before half time to put us 1-0 up.
I beat my full-back a lot throughout the game and kept getting balls into the box. I got moved into midfield with about 15 minutes to go because of substitutions. I wasn’t the best in midfield though!
Photo: Caught Light Photography
Although it happened on the first day of March rather than in February, Harris said one of his season highlights so far was a free kick he scored to open the scoring against Glasshoughton Welfare.
After being fouled on the edge of the box, the young winger wrapped his foot around the ball, curling it around the wall and into the top right-hand corner from the right side of the box.
Harris told us how he came to play for Railway:
This is my first full year here. I went along to pre-season in 2023, but nothing really came from it.
So, I played for UFCA [Ultimate Football Coaching Academy] last year instead. They’re a league below Railway.
It was good to have a year in men’s football to set myself up for this year. But I wanted to push myself more than last year.
I already knew Rob [Youhill] through playing five-a-side, so I got in contact with him and came back down.
The winger went straight from under-16s level to the UFCA, which plays in a men’s league, before coming back to Railway.
He explained the difference between juniors’ and men’s semi-professional football:
Junior football is much more technical and fast-paced, whereas men’s is way more physical.
I find myself getting fouled a lot more now because the men aren’t necessarily as quick anymore.
One thing I have noticed is that it’s more about winning no matter what than playing well at this level. Players will do anything to preserve points.
Photo: Caught Light Photography
Being semi-professional, Harris has to work a full-time job on top of his training and matches.
The apprentice surveyor told us how he balances work and football:
We work all over the north. We go as far up as Carlisle and cover everything in between to around where Manchester is.
We often train or play matches on Tuesdays. Work know that I have commitments with football and let me finish in time to get to training or my games on time.
We do also train on Thursdays, but I can’t always make that. I get to as many as I can, but my manager is understanding about it if I can’t. That’s the reality of football at this level.
Eggleston credited his teammates for the award, saying that he gets on really well with them.
He emphasised that good harmony in the dressing room is key to good performances, as it “makes you trust your teammates and play for each other and helps with chemistry on the pitch”.
Harrogate Railway are next in action in a home fixture against Doncaster side Club Thorne Colliery on March 25 at 7.45pm.
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