Harrogate footballer looking to score Blackburn Rovers to promotion

Blackburn Rovers may have strolled past Harrogate Town in the Carabao Cup recently — but one notable local player was absent from the team sheet.

Harry Leonard, 19, grew up in Harrogate and went to Grove Road Community Primary School and then Rossett School.

His family moved to the town 12 years ago from Rochdale.

Now starting for Rovers up front, Harry — like England star Rachel Daly — started out at Killinghall Nomads before moving onto Pannal Sports.

He signed for Blackburn at just nine-years-old.

Harry pictured with Killinghall Nomads.

Harry (second from right, back row) pictured with Killinghall Nomads.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Harry said it felt “unbelievable” to join such an academy set up.

During his rise up the ranks, he rubbed shoulders with players such as Jordan Rhodes, who scored 84 goals for Blackburn over a four-year spell, and midfielder Bradley Dack.

He signed his first professional contract in December 2021.

At the time, he said:

“It’s a little step in what is hopefully a long career here for me.

“You sacrifice a lot, moving over to the area at such a young age and a lot of hard work has gone into it, so I’d like to think that the hard work is paying off, but you can’t hold back in football. You’ve got to keep pushing on, keep working hard and keep getting better.”

Harry signing for Blackburn at nine-years-old.

Harry signing for Blackburn at nine-years-old.

Manager John Dahl Tomasson gave Harry his big break at the start of this season when the club opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion at Ewood Park.

Harry started and scored his first senior goal — 10 years to the day since he signed for Rovers.

He said:

“I was over the moon. It was a good win over a good side.”

Despite playing with the likes of Rhodes and Dack, Harry says he has never had one player that he has modelled his game on.

In fact, much of his inspiration lies closer to home.

He points to Ricky O’Sullivan, his PE teacher at Rossett, and Ryan Ellis, his teacher at Grove Road Primary School, as among those who helped him the most.

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The 19-year-old has started all but one league game in the Championship so far.

With games against the likes of local rivals Preston North End still to come, he says one of the games he’s most looking forward to is the trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United.

“I’ve got friends who will be in the Leeds end.”

Relishing his first senior season in the Championship, Harry said he’s taking each game as it comes.

Ahead of the season, he sat down with coach Damian Johnson to go over how he would approach the coming season.

But, rather than set a target, the discussion was around developing himself in the first team.

“I sat down at the start of the season with him and decided to try and cement my place in the team.

“I’m trying to take it game by game.”

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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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Harrogate Town ‘relishing’ being underdogs in Blackburn clash

Harrogate Town are “relishing” being underdogs in tomorrow night’s clash against Blackburn Rovers, says manager Simon Weaver.

Town will take on the Championship outfit, who sit two divisions above Harrogate, in a Carabao Cup second round match at the EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road.

Tickets have been selling fast for the game in what is arguably the club’s most illustrious match ever.

The fixture will be the first time Harrogate has hosted a Championship club, with League One Blackpool and Portsmouth the previous highest ranked to visit.

Town are expected to be labelled as underdogs for the game. However, Simon Weaver, Harrogate manager, said the club will relish the tag.

He said:

“It’s an understandable tag to remain with us. At every level, we have always had that tag.

“But we relish being underdogs and having a bit of a chip on our shoulder. We love it when teams sing about Betty’s tea shops and when people expect it to be soft and flaky. Hopefully we can prove people wrong.”

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A place in round three of the competition awaits the winners, with more Premier League clubs added to the draw, including the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Town go into the cup tie off the back of a 2-0 win in the league against Morecambe on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Rovers narrowly missed out on a play-off place last season, finishing seventh in the Championship and missing the chance to return to the Premier League, which they won in 1994/95.

Blackburn go into tomorrow night’s fixture after defeating Watford 1-0 in the Championship on Sunday.

Tickets for the game remain on sale to Harrogate Town fans online who attended three or more games since the start of last season.

Tickets are on sale here, or in-person to all supporters from the club’s Commercial Street Store.

Tickets selling fast for Harrogate Town’s big match against Blackburn

Harrogate Town have already sold more than 2,200 tickets for next week’s cup match against Blackburn Rovers.

Tickets went on general sale today for the match which will see Simon Weaver’s side take on Championship side Blackburn Rovers in what is arguably the club’s most illustrious match ever.

The Carabao Cup round two fixture will be the first time Harrogate has hosted a Championship club, with League One Blackpool and Portsmouth the previous highest ranked to visit.

A place in round three of the competition awaits the winners, with more Premier League clubs added to the draw, including the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

A Town spokesman said this afternoon:

“In total we have sold 2,200-plus tickets so far, which includes Blackburn’s full allocation of 450, which is the most we could give them due to the ongoing groundworks at the stadium.”

Rovers narrowly missed out on a play-off place last season, finishing seventh in the Championship and missing the chance to return to the Premier League, which they won in 1994/95.

Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson made over 100 international appearances for Denmark and has an honours list that includes a Serie A title, Eridivisie win as well as UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League successes.

Having once lined up alongside the likes of Paulo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo, Rivaldo and Andriy Shevchenko, Tomasson is set to face off against Simon Weaver at the EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road.

Town supporters can buy one ticket per person in their name and assign three others. Tickets are on sale here, or in-person from the club’s Commercial Street Store.

Season tickets are not valid for this fixture.

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