Mansfield Town’s under-19s were made to rue missed chances as Harrogate struck in either half to earn a 2-0 win during an end-to-end encounter at RH Academy.

This fixture saw plenty of chances for both sides in a game which could've gone either way. 

Harrogate Town and the Stags started the day in tenth and seventh place respectively as both sides looked to push up the Youth Alliance League table.

In the second minute, Harrogate forward Finn O’Boyle was played through on goal and calmly placed his effort into the bottom left-hand corner.

Mansfield Town had several chances in the first-half but couldn't find the back of the net despite going close on a number of occasions. Young right-back Elliot Hartmann had arguably the best chance of the half. Great footwork from the defender allowed him to skip beyond the Harrogate left-back but his shot was straight at the keeper.

The game was halted for a couple of minutes near the end of the first half as Harrogate Town centre-back Bobby Attree received treatment for a head injury. After being bandaged up the defender returned to action and saw out the remainder of the game.

Mansfield midfielder Jakub Kruszynski was the first player to find himself in the referee’s book near the end of the opening 45 minutes following a challenge on one of the opposition.

At the start of the second half, Stags' Charlie Carter was also booked after receiving a warning just minutes earlier for a hard tackle on one of the Harrogate Town midfielders. 

In front of goal, Mansfield Town were the same in the second half as they were in the first, missing that cutting edge in the final third.

In the 76th minute Finn Flanagan joined teammates Kruszynski and Carter in picking up a yellow card.

The Sulphurites had the golden opportunity to wrap up the game when they were given a penalty on 78 minutes following a challenge from a Mansfield defender on attacker Emmanuel Ilesanmi. 

The same man stepped up to take the penalty and found the bottom corner, out of reach for Stags’ goalkeeper Theo Avery.

MANSFIELD TOWN: Avery, Hartmann, Whelan, Whyle, Wauchope, Carter, Flanagan, Hamilton (Aynsley-Johnson 82), Abdullah (Kokkinos 75), Kruszynski, Bonser (Wilson 62)

UNUSED SUBS: Anderson, Taylor

HARROGATE TOWN: Giles, Williams, Moorby, Wilson, Attree, Taylor, Nicholson (Brodella 75), Tweed, Ilesanmi (Samuels 87), O’Boyle, Liddle

UNUSED SUBS: Lee, Smalley, Birmingham

REFEREE: Phillip Carey