Harrogate Town opinion: Everton U21s display didn't reveal much, but is 4-4-2 now the way forward?

A much-changed Harrogate Town side line up before Tuesday night's EFL Trophy clash with Everton U21s. The Sulphurites went on to lose 4-2 on penalties after the game finished 1-1. Pictures: Matt Kirkham

If Harrogate Town were hoping to come away from Tuesday night’s EFL Trophy clash with Everton Under-21s with either a morale-boosting performance or result, then they will have been sadly disappointed.

Sulphurites boss Simon Weaver stated pre-match that the priority was getting minutes into the legs of those players who have been on the fringes of his squad in recent weeks rather than a pressure-relieving victory.

And, while he accomplished that goal after making nine changes to his starting XI, he will surely have been hoping for more positives to take into what is a League Two fixture his struggling team really cannot afford to lose at Colchester United on Saturday.

That is not to say that nothing good came out of Town’s 1-1 draw with the Toffees, though it’s questionable how much Weaver and his staff will actually have learned.

On-loan Huddersfield forward Danny Grant scored during a stand-out performance for Harrogate Town.

The result in isolation is of no great significance, with retaining their league status very much the club’s priority this season, however a few goals and a victory really wouldn’t have gone amiss for a side who haven’t been able to score in recent weeks and are now winless in nine matches.

Let’s start with the good bits. Mark Oxley made just his second appearance of the season between the sticks and, just as he did away at Gillingham, performed well, making two excellent one-on-one stops and saving a penalty.

Captain Josh Falkingham got a full 90 minutes under his belt as he builds up his fitness following another spell out injured, while Tyler Frost delivered an encouraging first 45 down the left flank.

The biggest plus from a Town perspective was probably the display of Huddersfield loanee Danny Grant, who may have missed a couple of decent opportunities to score but did also manage to find the net during a solid evening’s work which could well bring him into contention to start against Colchester this weekend.

Tyler Frost makes inroads down the Harrogate Town left.

Luke Armstrong had a decent game up top, but we already knew that he is a player who always works hard, often plays well, but at this moment in time cannot buy a goal.

Alex Pattison came off the bench and set up Harrogate’s equaliser, asking plenty of questions of the Everton defence, but again, it was already clear to anyone with eyes that the Sulphurites are a better team with him in it.

In terms of the negatives, a number of sloppy moments for central defender Kyle Ferguson perhaps showed why he has found himself out of the picture in recent weeks, while pacy wideman Sam Folarin was a peripheral figure for the second game running.

Whilst it was encouraging to see Town creating chances, the fact that they were again lacking in cutting edge in and around the penalty area and finished the night with just the one goal is still something of a concern.

Mark Oxley saved a penalty during Harrogate Town's 4-2 shoot-out defeat to Everton U21s.

So, to sum up, aside from the fact that we’ve now seen that versatile forward Grant definitely has a bit about him, I’m not sure that I have written anything here that we did not already know prior to kick-off.

Perhaps my most significant takeaway from Tuesday night is the fact that it reinforces my feeling that a return to a 4-4-2 formation is the way forward for Harrogate Town.

They undoubtedly played well in a 4-3-3 system against Bradford last weekend, however they still lost that game and I don’t think there is any argument about how poor Weaver’s men looked in this particular system during their loss at Stevenage and the first half at Stockport.

Yes, there were encouraging signs in the 1-0 home loss to Salford City, though Town again ended up losing and – as has been proven over the last couple of seasons – they don’t score very many goals at all in a 4-3-3.

The 2-0 win away at Leyton Orient in early 2021/22 and the superb FA Cup upset at Portsmouth later in the same season are notable exceptions, and I’m a big believer in being pragmatic and setting a team up based on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, but I don’t feel that this shape works.

As we saw on Tuesday with the chances that Everton’s kids were able to create all too easily, Harrogate look a bit more vulnerable in a 4-4-2, but they also offer far more going forwards and create a greater number of chances.

Town started in a 4-4-2 at Sutton United and looked more of a threat, they also changed to that system partway through their win at Gillingham – the last time they came out on top in a game – and, for me, their best hope of arresting their frightening run of recent form lies in reverting back to the formation which has brought them so much success in the past.

I expect that they will concede a few more goals in the process, but they desperately need to start finding the back of the net and winning matches if they want to remain in the Football League.