Harrogate Railway celebrate Dan Thirkell’s late equaliser. Picture: Caught Light Photography
Captain Dan Thirkell led from the front after rescuing a point for Harrogate Railway with the injury-time equaliser in the 1-1 draw with ten man Brighouse Town at Station View.
Thirkell sparked scenes of relief around Harrogate and Lee Ashforth’s men will hope that their second point in four days can spark a run of form to move them from the Evo Stik Division One North relegation zone.
Steve Hollingworth’s header on the stroke of half-time had appeared to have given surprise pack Brighouse all three points, despite the visitors having to play with ten men for nearly the whole of the second half after Tom Haigh was sent off.
Railway, who have had a difficult start, were looking to build on the 2-2 draw at Scarborough Athletic in midweek. They looked solid and competitive in a first half that lacked chances.
However, Rail were hit by a sucker-punch in first half injury-time. Ernest Boafo caught Rail cold from a quickly-taken free kick. The striker’s shot was saved by Tom Goodwin, but the ball fell to Hollingworth to head into the empty net.
That summed up Railway’s recent luck, but their chances of coming back into the game greatly improved right at the start of the second half.
Dismissed Brighouse midfielder Tom Haigh is tackled. Photo: Caught Light Photography
Steve Hollingworth gave Brighouse the lead
Haigh’s poor challenge sparked a mass brawl
Harrogate Railway captain Dan Thirkell
Haigh’s wild challenge on on-loan attacker Rob Worrall sparked a mass brawl with nearly all 22 players involved. Not helped by the reaction, Haigh was sent for an early bath.
Despite playing with one man less, Brighouse almost added a second goal as Goodwin only just kept out Hollingworth’s close range effort.
A sign of a potential Railway comeback was when Louis Horne’s header came back off the crossbar.
By the last few minutes, Railway had only two players in defence and that should have cost them a second Brighouse goal as Danny Facey went through one-on-one with Goodwin.
Goodwin won the battle with a save with his legs and that effectively earned his side a precious point as the ball was lifted forward and Railway secured a corner.
Lawrence Hunter launched the ball into the penalty area and it dropped nicely for Thirkell to score on the half-volley and rescue his team.
Harrogate Railway manager Lee Ashforth: “There wasn’t anything in the first half.
“There were no clear-cut chances and it was a bit of a damp squid of a first half.
“To concede before half-time was really disappointing because it was such a soft goal.
“Maybe the sending-off put it in our favour because we got on top and I thought we deserved to win.
“Louis Horne hit the crossbar, but we kept throwing everything into the box. At one point we were playing with two at the back.
“We took the gamble and the gamble paid off.”
Brighouse Town manager Paul Quinn: “We’re disappointed not to leave with maximum points because on the balance of play we deserved to win.
“When you give teams a chance to get back into it, you’re always at risk. We played with ten men for 35 minutes and along with the missed chances, that has probably cost us.
“You have to look at the positives and we have gone through October unbeaten in the league. It has been a very good month for us.
“You have to give Harrogate credit because they kept going at us and forced the equaliser.”
On Tom Haigh’s red card: “Whether it was a sending-off I don’t know because I didn’t see enough of it.
“I don’t think the tackle needed to be made and I’ve told Tom that. I don’t think the brawl helped though.
“There was certainly some uncertainty because if there’s a red card it comes out pretty quickly and people are clear-minded. There was a debate going on so I would question the clarity of the decision.
“However, referees have a tough job anyway so we will go along with it.”
Harrogate Railway: Goodwin, Wood (Pells 57), Hunter, Low, Stockdill, Horne (Barrett 84), Sharrocks, Thirkell, Owen, Worrall (Bromley 65), Ibrahimi. Subs unused: Clamp, Brown.
Brighouse Town: Hagreen, Field, Fisher, Wilson, Illingworth, Allison (Hewitt 82), Hall, Haigh, Hollingworth (Facey 75), Boafo, Henry (Pollard 60). Subs unused: Thornton, Stead.
Referee: Peter Henger
Ref Rating: 6/10
Attendance: 90