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22
Nov
‘It’s been a tough few months,’ says Harrogate’s Tom Cursons — but striker is ready to make a mark
Harrogate Town striker Tom Cursons admitted he’s had a tough few months being out of the first team, but is ready to cement his starting spot following good form.
This season, the 24-year-old made only four appearances for Town before last Tuesday (November 11), three of which were as a substitute.
He was yet to score or assist.
But last Tuesday, with Town drawing against Newcastle United’s under-21s, Cursons came from the bench to score two game-winning goals.
His two exceptional finishes earned him a starting spot in Simon Weaver’s much-depleted side against Notts County on Saturday (November 15), in which he scored the opener after 39 minutes.
Having totalled just 130 minutes of football before last Tuesday, Cursons got three goals in 135 minutes last week alone.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret this week, he said:
Scoring is the best feeling in the world, so it’s nice to be back doing that. It’s been a tough few months. It’s one of those periods where you have to just stick to your processes and trust that things will improve.
I play football for Saturdays, for that release, so it’s hard when you’re not able to do that. I’ve not had that buzz in a while. Waking up on Sunday with aches and pains from the day before was nice actually — I’ve missed it.
Cursons after his fine strike against Newcastle under-21s.
Harrogate brought in several attacking signings in the summer. The addition of Mason Bennett and Shawn McCoulsky means the club currently has four strikers.
With Weaver opting for a single-striker formation, competition is fierce for the role.
Even with Mason Bennett’s long-term injury, the other two strikers started their season in excellent form, further reducing Cursons’ opportunities.
So, when he did get his chance against Newcastle, did he feel the pressure? He said:
A little bit, but there’s pressure every time you play. Especially in my position, there are four strikers at the club.
It wasn’t much of a shock [that we signed more strikers] with Josh March and Ollie Sanderson leaving at the end of last season. We weren’t going to go into the season with just me and Mullers [Jack Muldoon] up front. You need that competition for places in your squad.
And that competition has driven Cursons to fight hard for his place in the first team.
The striker has been coming in early to do extra strength and conditioning training and has been staying late to do extra shooting sessions with club captain-turned-coach, Josh Falkingham.
And now that he’s made it into the first team, it’ll take some shift to get him out.
Cursons told the Stray Ferret:
I just need to keep scoring goals, looking after the ball and being strong in the air. [When I’m on the pitch] I’m thinking to be aggressive with my pressing, being strong in the challenge and scoring. It’s just about being in the right place at the right time. Keep getting in those positions. It might not come to you every time, but as long as you’re in those positions one will drop to you eventually.
I’ve been asking the manager what he wants from me, and he’s been very open with me.
One win in eight
Harrogate’s recent form has left a lot to be desired.
The Newcastle victory is the club’s only win in eight games, before which they had lost six in a row.
Their draw with Notts County was unfortunate, as a wrongly awarded, last-minute penalty was the difference between the Sulphurites leaving with all the points. Refereeing governing body PGMOL has since apologised to Simon Weaver.
Cursons admitted it was difficult to know what’s going wrong:
Obviously it’s disappointing, there’s no shying away from it. If we knew [what was going wrong], we’d be able to put it right. None of us feel miles off it.
We’re well aware of the ability in the squad and we know we can turn it around. We’ve got to stick together as a squad and grind results out if we have to.
Cursons said he was feeling confident about Harrogate’s next fixture against second-placed Walsall, though.
“If we back up our performance against Notts County and attack a bit more, we can get a result,” the striker said. “We sat back a bit on Saturday.”
Harrogate will host Walsall at 12.30pm today.
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