Harrogate Town 2  North Ferriby United 1   

The Villagers went down to an undeserved 2-1 defeat at Blue Square Bet Conference North side Harrogate Town.

Manager Neil Allison  said that his team had played well against a strong team and that overall it had ben a pleasing performance from Ferriby.

The home side had the better of the first 15 minutes with Steve Wilson in the Ferriby goal having to make two good saves from Martin Foster and Wayne Phillips.

The Harrogate defence began to look hesitant as Ferriby played themselves back into the game with some attractive football. Russell Fry had a shot saved by Harrogate keeper Craig Dootson, then ex-Ferriby defender Liam Chapman deflected a goal-bound shot for a corner.

The Villagers, however, were rocked when, somewhat against the run of play, Harrrogate score twice in two minutes. First Foster broke down the right and his cross was well-controlled by Graham Armstrong who turned before shooting past Wilson. In the 35^th minute Foster scored direct from a 20 yard freekick directly in front of goal.

Just before half-time Chris white almost pulled one back for Ferriby but his header went narrowly over. Despite the scoreline, Ferriby had slightly the better of the first half.

Both sides made a number of half-time substitutions. Harrogate almost scored a third within seconds of the kick-off when Sam Denton cleared a Phillips shot off the line. This was the last time that Harrogate seriously threatened the Ferriby goal. With Ferriby's defence playing well throughout the half Ben Hallam, a half-time substitute did not have a cross to take or a shot to save.

Ferriby's goal came after 48 minutes when Denton headed home powerfully from Russell fry's corner.

As both managers continued to make more substations, play became somewhat disjointed and neither keeper was seriously threatened. Ferriby's defence and midfield closed down most of Harrogate's attacks confidently. Triallist Paul Harsley played throughout the second half and was prominent in both setting-up Ferriby attacks and closing down quickly on Harrogate's players.

The Villagers were the better team in the second half and their commitment and skill rattled Harrogate. Despite the result, there was much to praise in Ferriby's performance.

Harrogate Town: C Dootson, D Roma, P Talbot, D Williams, R Pell, L Chapman, M Foster, S Bowey, G Armstrong,  N Jarman, W Phillips, Subs: Harrison, Savory, Ellington,James, Novakowski, Naylor

NFU: S Wilson (B Hallam 45), T Matthews (J Williams 65), K Larvin (C White 70), R Levesley,  S Denton, B Morley (P Harsley 45),      G Dalton (P Davidson 45) C Bolder J Hopcuss 45),  R Fry, G Bradshaw (G Owen 62), C White