Taylor’s “quality finish” makes it four in a row for Harrogate
Sunday 11 October 2026 · By Andy Whiteside
Harrogate Town are the closest challengers to Boreham Wood after a fourth straight league win. Ellis Taylor’s 32nd-minute goal settled Saturday’s game at Woking, and Simon Weaver’s side stay second in the Enterprise National League.
Taylor was making his first start of the season and took his chance in style. The former Sunderland winger lashed an emphatic finish into the roof of the net from a tight angle just after the half-hour mark, and Harrogate held on for a 1–0 win at the Laithwaite Community Stadium.
Weaver was delighted for the 23-year-old. “I am ecstatic for the lad,” he told BBC Radio York. “He was out for quite some time, and in recent weeks we have been in good form, but he got his opportunity at Woking and took it straight away.
“It was a quality finish. He has been striking the goals in, in training all week. It was a tight angle, but he lashed it in.”
Taylor’s road back has been a long one. According to the Harrogate Advertiser, he suffered a serious quad injury towards the end of last season, returned to full training in late August and had appeared as a second-half substitute in each of Harrogate’s previous six matches. On Saturday he lined up as one of two number 10s.
“I am so pleased for him because he is a good lad, and loved in our changing room,” Weaver added. “Nobody doubts his ability at all, I am just so pleased for the squad that he is back. This is just the start, I am sure.”
The win continues an impressive run. After back-to-back defeats, Harrogate have beaten Eastleigh, Hartlepool United, Hornchurch and now Woking. They have 28 points from 13 games, seven behind leaders Boreham Wood and one ahead of third-placed Southend United, who won late at Boston on Saturday.
Their record of 29 goals scored and 17 conceded suggests a side built to stay in the promotion race. Harrogate were relegated from League Two in May, and a quick return to the Football League is the clear aim. Only the champions go up automatically, with the sides from second to seventh entering the play-offs.
Next up is a big occasion. Harrogate travel to Bury in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round on Saturday 17 October, and the tie at Gigg Lane will be shown live by the BBC, with a 12.30pm kick-off. It is a meeting of two former Football League clubs, and a place in the first round proper is the prize.
The league resumes a week later, when Sutton United visit on Saturday 24 October, also with a 12.30pm kick-off. Sutton have gone five league games without a win. Harrogate then travel to Carlisle United on Wednesday 28 October.
With Taylor back among the goals and confidence high, Weaver’s side look well placed to keep the pressure on the leaders. As their manager put it, this may be just the start.
Colour plan of Wetherby Road (The Marcy Fitness / Exercise Stadium). Green = home areas, blue = typical away allocation. Goals sit in front of the Hospital End and the Myrings / Touch Telecom end.
Wetherby Road has been Harrogate Town’s home since 1920. You will also see it billed as the Exercise Stadium or Marcy Fitness Stadium. Capacity is about 5,000. It is a compact League Two ground: a mix of short seated stands and covered terraces rather than one continuous bowl. Visiting supporters usually leave with a good impression — close to the pitch, covered in the allocated areas, and staffed in a way that feels more non-league hospitality than big-club security theatre.
The pitch runs roughly north–south, with the A661 Wetherby Road along the west touchline and Harrogate District Hospital behind the north goal. That north end is the Hospital End (still often called the Aon Terrace): covered home standing. The south end, opposite, is the Myrings / Touch Telecom terrace, with the 1919 venue and club shop nearby. Away fans are typically placed behind that south goal and along the southern stretch of the Wetherby Road side — the Barclay LED terrace plus the small Kitching Plant Hire seated stand (around 147 seats). South turnstiles on Wetherby Road are the away entrance. Home supporters use the north gates.
Buy through your own club. Harrogate do not sell away tickets on the day at the ground. Allocation is usually around 1,000–1,050, split between standing and those 147 seats. Choose seating or standing when you buy; you cannot wander between them. Turnstiles generally open 90 minutes before kick-off (often 1.30pm for a 3pm Saturday). All listed away areas are covered. The low roof on the Wetherby Road terrace helps a travelling support sound bigger than the numbers. Wheelchair places for visitors are usually arranged in a home-side block — contact both clubs early if you need access seating or a companion ticket.
There is no public car park at the stadium. Residential streets nearby have restrictions. Coaches and minibuses must not drop on Wetherby Road; the designated park-and-walk is Harrogate Sports and Fitness Centre on Hookstone Wood Road (HG2 8PN), about a 15-minute walk. Cedar Court Hotel on Park Parade (HG1 5AH) often sells matchday spaces. Harrogate station is a little over a mile away; Hornbeam Park is another option. Bus 7 runs along Wetherby Road. Disabled drop-off is at Willow Tree Primary School, not at the main gates.
Once inside, there is an away bar under the south-end stand (limited capacity, typically around 100). Draught options have included Carling and Madri, plus soft drinks. Food kiosks sit near the away concourse — pies and burgers are the staple. Outside the ground, The Woodlands on Wetherby Road (HG2 7AB) is the usual pre-match recommendation, about ten minutes’ walk. Harrogate Brewery Co. is further but popular with travelling groups. The town centre, spa buildings and The Stray are an easy add-on if you arrive early.
Views from the away terrace and the Kitching seats are honest rather than panoramic: you are close, floodlight bases poke through parts of the Wetherby Road stand, and the Main Stand opposite (Greene King IPA Family Stand, with the TV gantry on the roof) only covers part of the touchline. Dugouts sit on the Wetherby Road side. Stewards are generally straightforward. Do not try the home end; anyone found there is removed without a refund. Bags are often searched. Under-15s must be with an adult.
Address: Wetherby Road, Harrogate, HG2 7SA. Arrive with time to spare — the A661 backs up and the walk from coach parking is longer than it looks on a map. If you want noise, stand behind the south goal. If you want a seat and a slightly calmer view, take Kitching Plant Hire. Either way you will be under cover, on top of the pitch, at a ground that still feels like a proper lower-league day out.