Harrogate stun Gillingham with second-half salvo

By Sports Desk April 01, 2024

Harrogate left fellow League Two play-off hopefuls Gillingham shell-shocked as a devastating second-half comeback secured a 5-1 home win.

Matty Daly (two), Anthony O’Connor, Jack Muldoon and Abraham Odoh emphatically turned the tables after George Lapslie had given the visitors the lead, meaning the Gills also lost after scoring an opening goal for the first time since January 2022.

Earlier, away keeper Glenn Morris made a brilliant first-half reflex save to keep out Rod McDonald’s powerful header before Lapslie netted in the 41st minute.

The ex-Mansfield midfielder was initially denied by an excellent save from James Belshaw but when the ball rebounded off the underside of the crossbar, he was quickest to react with a diving header from six yards out.

Harrogate levelled on the hour when George Thomson’s cross from the left was headed in at the far post by O’Connor.

Eight minutes later, Conor Masterson’s dreadful ball out of defence was intercepted by Thomson. The hosts’ 14-goal top scorer fed Daly, who curled into Morris’ bottom-left corner from 15 yards.

Daly was back on the scoresheet moments later, prodding in after Morris had saved from Josh March.

Substitute Muldoon made it 4-1 in the 93rd minute as he broke on to a loose ball and thumped a dipping strike over Morris from 15 yards.

Two minutes later, fellow replacement Odoh completed the rout from a similar distance, firing inside the far post after cutting inside from the left flank.

Related items

  • Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on

    Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.

    Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.

    Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.

    Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.

    Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.

    Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.

    Data Debrief: Kante the creator?

    On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.

    On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.

     

  • Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level

    Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.

    Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.

    The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.

    Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.

    "If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.

    "I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."

    Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.

    "My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.

    "To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.

    "You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.

    "Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.

    "Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.

    "Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."

  • Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women

    Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.

    Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.

    Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.

    "The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.

    "We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."

    Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.

    Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.

    "If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.

    "We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.

    "We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.