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20
Jul 2024
Stern test for Harrogate as Leeds run out winners in pre-season clash
Earlier this week, Simon Weaver told the Stray Ferret that tough opposition in pre-season would make his Harrogate Town players “think quicker”.
That’s what they had to do last night at the Exercise Stadium, when Leeds United defeated them 3-0.
A bumper crowd of 3,920 saw Town pit themselves against the Championship side.
Weaver said he picked such opposition as Leeds, Sheffield United and Middlesborough so that his players could be “competitive” against higher calibre players.
It’s been some seven years since United last made the trip up the A61 to Wetherby Road and the crowd, including a sold out away end, marked such an occasion.
For the just over 1,000 Leeds fans who travelled to Wetherby Road, the performance was dominant.
United had the majority of the ball and used their attacking threat of Dan James down the right hand side and Junior Firpo on the left.
Goals from Firpo in the first half and record signing Georginio Rutter and Sam Chambers in the second rounded off a comprehensive display.
But Weaver fielded a strong side himself, including former Leeds academy graduate Josh Falkingham who captained Town, as well as the returning George Thompson from the bench.
Harrogate's biggest chance to land a blow on the Whites came in the second half when Stephen Duke-McKenna hit the post from a free kick.
There was a moment of mutual applause in the second half when 15-year-old Harry Gray, younger brother of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Archie who went to school in Harrogate, came on for Leeds in the second half.
In the end, the game belonged to United - who will now continue their preparations for the forthcoming season at a training camp in Germany.
Likewise, Town will continue their pre-season fixtures against another Championship side in Sheffield United next week.
Weaver told the Stray Ferret this week that part of the reason for the tough fixtures was to make up for lost time when Harrogate did not host such teams.
He will hope that such opposition will set his side in good stead to climb the EFL League Two table this coming season.
Ahead of the new football season, Stray Ferret subscribers can look forward to a two-part interview with Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver in the coming weeks on his 15 years in charge of the club.
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