Harrogate boss Simon Weaver believes attacker Abraham Odoh can “reach for the stars” after ending a 20-game goal drought.
Odoh secured a 3-2 win for the Sulphurites over bogey side Salford, who they had failed to defeat in 12 previous league contests.
His clinical 80th-minute strike came after efforts by George Thomson and Sam Folarin had been cancelled out by visiting replies from Curtis Tilt and Matt Smith.
It was Odoh’s first goal since March for Rochdale, where he only netted four times in 91 outings.
But, on his number nine’s potential, Weaver said: “He’s been outstanding since coming to the club and his goal was the icing on the cake.
“He had a great effort before that and I think the goal has been coming. He’s a player who, with a little bit of belief, can reach for the stars.”
Harrogate went into the game as the lowest scoring team in Sky Bet League Two’s but they also hit the frame of the goal three times.
Weaver added: “I thought their first goal was a blatant foul and it got them back in a positive mindset.
“Their second then looked soft from our point of view, but it became a test of our mindset and, to win 3-2 after they came back at us, makes the three points feel even better.
“We said at half-time that, whoever got the next goal, I didn’t want us to change the gameplan. I wanted us to stay on the front foot and keep creating chances and that’s what we did.”
The defeat saw Salford extend their longest-ever losing sequence as an EFL outfit to a fifth match, heaping the pressure on manager Neil Wood with the watching Ryan Giggs strongly rumoured to be on the verge of succeeding him.
Wood pointed to an injury crisis that saw his seven-man bench boast just three EFL starts between them, declaring: “Nobody puts themselves under more pressure than myself. I know it’s part of the job.
“We were in the play-off positions for virtually the whole of last season. Now, we’ve hit a bit of a bump and have had a dip, but it’s coincided with eight or nine of our players being on the injury list and we have only got what we have got.
“In a way, that’s great for the young lads because they are getting experience and we will throw them in and give them a go. That situation won’t change in the next few weeks, so everybody has to dig in together.”
Wood’s team have now failed to keep a clean sheet in 11 fixtures and he added: “I’m not sure it was a penalty and I think you could tell that by the reaction of the players around the incident.
“But we got ourselves back level and, then, we went long and lost the ball when we know their main threat is on the counter-attack.
“They have some athletic players going forwards and it was a really soft goal to concede but we are not defending well as a team and that’s a big problem that we’re trying to address.”
Simeone confident for Madrid derby despite lack of rest time
Atletico Madrid's lack of preparation time has not dampened Diego Simeone's confidence ahead of Sunday's clash with Real Madrid, with the Argentine hoping their past derby successes can provide inspiration.
Atleti are unbeaten through their first seven games of the season in LaLiga, winning four and drawing three to sit third in the table, two points behind their cross-city rivals.
Los Colchoneros have, however, had two fewer days to prepare for the first Madrid derby of the season, having beaten Celta Vigo 1-0 on Thursday. Carlo Ancelotti's champions, meanwhile, downed Alaves 3-2 on Tuesday.
Atleti do boast a strong record against Los Blancos, being the only team to beat them in any competition last season – once in LaLiga last September and again in the Copa del Rey in January.
Simeone has masterminded 12 wins in his 43 Madrid derbies as Atletico coach (15 draws, 16 losses), as many victories as they managed in their previous 77 prior to his arrival.
Speaking at Saturday's pre-match press conference, Simeone told reporters: "A lot has changed up to this moment.
"It's an aspect in which we’ve improved, and that’s why the club has grown as it has, and the team is held to the standards it is.
"Everything starts in the mind. Beyond the physical aspect, which can have an influence at times, motivation is an important weapon for everything in life."
The Argentine did admit the lack of preparation time posed a unique challenge, adding: "It's tough to change things in two days, based on what we've been doing.
"We are still in the process of finding our balance, we are adapting and we get it right more or less. But it is true that we need more time.
"We accept it as it is. We said it before when we went to play against Athletic Bilbao in the (Copa del Rey) semi-final, them with five days and us with two days of rest. No-one cares."
Atleti's only home defeat so far this year came in February's Copa del Rey semi-final against Athletic, who went on to win that trophy.
While Madrid have plenty of firepower despite Kylian Mbappe missing out due to injury, Simeone feels Sunday's visitors will miss the influence of retired midfielder Toni Kroos.
"The opponent has lost a very important player like Kroos," he said. "I think they are looking for that player who gives them that calm to take advantage of all their offensive power."
International record goalscorer Sinclair to retire after NWSL season
Christine Sinclair, the all-time record goalscorer in international football, will retire at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League in November.
Sinclair, 41, has 190 goals in 331 appearances for Canada, making her the top scorer across both men's and women's football.
She has played for the NWSL's Portland Thorns since 2013, helping them to win the inaugural title that year. She added further league crowns to her collection in 2017 and 2022.
The Canadian great has had similar success with her national team, winning a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is also one of three players to score at five World Cups, alongside Brazil's Marta and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sinclair retired from international football in December 2023, and will now call time on her club career.
"Portland, thank you will never be enough. Soccer has been my passion since I was four years old and it has taken me on a journey I could never have imagined," Sinclair wrote on Instagram.
"As I finish out this last ride, I want to say what a privilege it has been to represent this unique, beautiful, and passionate city that I will always call home."
St. Louis City v Sporting Kansas City: This rivalry is important to MLS, says Hackworth
John Hackworth believes St. Louis City's derby with Sporting Kansas City is key to MLS as they resume their rivalry on Saturday.
The last two meetings between the sides have finished level, with both ending in dramatic fashion.
St. Louis City come into the latest edition having lost just one of their last six outings, though that was their last home match.
They sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, level on points with Sporting above them, and Hackworth is now keen to build on the momentum from their win over San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday.
"We talked about trying to finish these last five games with a lot of momentum, showing our fans what we were capable of," Hackworth said.
"We knew we had to go on the road in one of these three games and be successful, and now we just need to build on that.
"This rivalry is really important to our league. It's two teams who are going to go after it and play by their principles, leaving it all out there to see what happens - two dramatic draws set us up for this contest."
Meanwhile, Kansas City have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions and suffered a 3-1 defeat to Los Angeles FC in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday.
Head coach Peter Vermes was left disappointed by the result but believes there are positives to take from the performance.
"I give the guys a lot of credit. I'm very proud of the effort that the guys put into that game," Vermes said.
"It never feels good to lose. But I also think that the group did themselves proud in the way they performed. We had good responses in that game, but in the end, we fell short."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert
Cedric Teuchert scored in the fourth minute in each of St. Louis City's last two matches.
Teuchert is one of six players to score more than one goal in the opening four minutes of matches this season and the second to do so in consecutive matches (Mikael Uhre).
Sporting Kansas City – Tim Melia
Both goals Sporting Kansas City conceded in their loss to Minnesota United on Saturday came in the final 30 minutes.
Sporting have allowed 31 goals in the final 30 minutes of matches this season, only San Jose (33) has allowed more, and Tim Melia will be hoping his concentration levels can improve ahead of Saturday's match.
MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN
St. Louis City have lost only two of their last 10 matches in all competitions (W4 D4), including picking up a 2-1 win at San Jose on Saturday. St. Louis have not won two straight matches in all competitions since wins over Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City last September.
Sporting have lost 10 of their last 12 regular-season away matches, including a 2-0 loss in Seattle in their last league road match. Only league-worst San Jose (11) have lost more away matches this season than Sporting (10).
However, Kansas City are unbeaten in four straight meetings with St. Louis (W2 D2) after St. Louis won two of the first three encounters. This will be the eighth meeting between St. Louis and Kansas City, totaling 10.4 % (8/77) of all of St. Louis' games in all competitions up to this point.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 43.4%
Draw – 26.7%
Sporting Kansas City – 29.9%
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
