December 2009

An away draw with Blyth Spartans kicked off December. Simon Sturdy grabbed his first goal for us on 26 minutes from the penalty spot and it looked as though that was enough, but Blyth pulled level in the 81st minute to make it 1-1. To be quite honest, neither team were outstanding, so a draw was probably a fair result.

Eastwood Town were our next opponents. They found themselves in 16th place, just one spot below us, and we really needed to win. Nic McDonnell, who was back in the starting line up after being rested against Blyth, opened the scoring on 15 minutes, and that was the way things finished. McDonnell could've doubled his tally in the second half, but his penalty was well saved by the Eastwood 'keeper. It's fair to say that we were quite lucky to come away with three points though; Eastwood had 14 shots in the game, double what we achieved, and they had a goal ruled out for offside with ten minutes left to play. I wasn't complaining though; three points is three points, no matter how you get them!

Just before the next game against Kidderminster in the FA Trophy, I signed 18-year-old attacking midfielder Luke Dean on a loan for the rest of the season from Bradford City. My scouts had recommended him to me earlier in the season, and his introduction to the squad would provide Brian Dutton and Simon Heslop with some competition. Kidderminster were very much favourites for our 1st round tie, but with no goals for either side at half time, we felt we were in with a chance. However, they opened the scoring on 70 minutes and it looked as though they'd booked their place in the next round. We piled on the pressure in the last ten minutes, and our efforts were rewarded with a penalty in the 90th minute, which Nic McDonnell cooly converted so earn us a replay back at Wetherby Road.

A few days later, the media approached me about the vacant Newport County job, to which I denied any speculation linking me with the job. Needless to say, the Harrogate board were delighted. The FA Trophy 2nd round draw took place, and us or Kidderminster were given a home tie against either Kettering or Rushden. Just the small matter of beating Kidderminster first though, before we could think about that. The replay was postponed due to a flooded pitch and rearranged for a few days later, and it was pretty disappointing. Kidderminster ran out 2-0 victors, and comfortable ones at that. Once again though, at least we can now fully concentrate on the league.

Leauge leaders Gloucester City were our next opponents at Wetherby Road. We managed to hold them to a goalless draw, thanks to stand out performances from Matt Bloomer and Ian Cox at centre back. Both Bloomer and Cox were swiftly awarded new contracts, along with several other players, most notably David McTiernan, Dan Broadbent and Simon Sturdy.

A 1-0 home win against Workington saw the month, and indeed the year out for Harrogate. Brian Dutton's header off Alex Smith's corner won the game for us. It was a man of the match performance from the midfielder and also his first goal for the club.

December was a good month for us, and perhaps the best since I took over. 8 points out of a possible 12 in the league, including a draw to the side who were top of the table, is very positive. The fact we're out of the FA Trophy isn't so good, but we did put up a good fight against a tough Kidderminster side. The end of 2009 sees Harrogate placed 14th in the league, with New Year's Day bringing bottom of the table Farsley to Wetherby Park. Without sounding too over-confident, I'm quite up for a belated Christmas present. See you all next year!