Harrogate boss Simon Weaver hailed veteran striker Jack Muldoon’s “dedication to his profession” after his first goal in open play for 30 games secured a 1-1 draw against Swindon.
Other than an opening-day penalty at Doncaster, Muldoon had not netted since February but ended that barren run in emphatic fashion, with a belting edge-of-the-box finish.
The 34-year-old’s equaliser came after on-loan Bradford striker Jake Young had grabbed his 13th goal of the season.
A pleased Weaver said: “The goal was good on the eye and Jack Muldoon, at 34, was like a man possessed. He showed a real dedication to his profession because, seconds after scoring our equaliser, he was back making tackles in the full-back position.”
The point ended a run of five straight defeats for the Sulphurites at Wetherby Road – a sequence that has coincided with four consecutive league wins on the road – with Weaver admitting: “Everyone keeps asking me about the massive contrast between our home and away form, even my postman!
“But, sometimes you can’t read too much into these things. You’ve just got to instil belief into the players because we have got a good group here and a lot of spirit and I enjoyed our performance in this game.
“We were frustrated not to win, but we kept attacking and pressing and the stats showed we were on top. It was just that final third where we needed a bit more.
“We need to score more goals, but we can look forward with optimism because we were getting into that final third with some very good play and the equaliser came at the end of a really good passing move.”
The draw also ended a five-game losing streak for Swindon, but manager Mike Flynn argued that his team were denied maximum points after the officials awarded a free-kick for home goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell during a scramble that saw the ball cross the line off what appeared to be Young’s heel.
“We had a perfectly legitimate goal disallowed, which was very frustrating,” Flynn bemoaned. “It was poor from the officials.
“I’ve watched it back three times and I wouldn’t comment unless I was 100 per cent sure, but the goalkeeper dropped the ball and it was then back-heeled in.
“These things happen when you’re in a sticky patch and I thought we merited more than a point, even though Murph (Murphy Mahoney) has made some good saves for us. I was disappointed by the first 20 minutes of the second half, though.
“We gave them impetus and that’s happened a number of times now after we’ve been leading at half-time. We gave their player a free shot from the edge of the box to pick his spot and that can’t happen, but the team stuck together after that and we had seven players out, so we’re wafer thin and the sooner we get to January to get some bodies in the better.”
Jamaica 0-1 United States: Pepi give visitors advantage in Nations League quarter-final
Ricardo Pepi's first-half strike gave the United States a 1-0 advantage over Jamaica after the first leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final.
The hosts saw a penalty saved in the first half before their frustrations were compounded late on thanks to Mason Holgate's red card.
The USA had the lead just five minutes in – having smothered a Jamaica attack at one end, the visitors caught them out with a pacy counter-attack, with Pepi sweeping it into the back of the net.
Shortly after, Shamar Nicholson was brought down by Matt Turner when he tried to take it around him, but the goalkeeper made amends, diving low to his right to deny Demarai Gray from 12 yards.
In the second half, Holgate was denied a tap-in by Yunus Musah before Turner scrambled to stop Leon Bailey's corner from nestling into the net as Jamaica searched for an equaliser.
With 86 minutes on the clock, Holgate received a second yellow card in just over 10 minutes for dragging Brandon Vazquez back, meaning he will miss the return leg in Missouri on Monday.
Data Debrief: Hitting the mark
Pepi got the all-important goal on Thursday, and is the fourth player to score 12 goals for the USA before turning 22 years old, joining Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore and Christian Pulisic.
But it was perhaps Turner who actually had the most vital interventions; he has now saved three of the eight penalties he's faced for the USA, including two against Jamaica.
Mauricio Pochettino also could not have asked for a better result from his first competitive game in charge of the Stars and Stripes as he became just the third full-time manager to win his first competitive away match, joining Bob Bradley (2008) and Steve Sampson (1996).
Scaloni 'not here to criticise' Argentina after shock Paraguay defeat
Lionel Scaloni says he is "not here to criticise his players" after they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Paraguay in World Cup qualifying.
Lautaro Martinez had given Argentina the lead in the 11th minute – his powerful shot past Roberto Fernandez was initially ruled out for offside before a VAR review overturned it.
However, Paraguay were soon back on level terms. Gustavo Gomez rattled the crossbar with a diving header from a corner, but they regathered possession and pulled level with a sublime overhead kick from Antonio Sanabria 19 minutes in.
Two minutes into the second half, the hosts completed the turnaround through Omar Alderete, who met Diego Gomez's precise free-kick to nod in from close range.
Rodrigo De Paul arguably should have equalised for Argentina with just over 20 minutes to go, but under pressure, sliced over from close range, with the visitors unable to salvage a point.
It was a third defeat in World Cup qualifying for the Albiceleste, who remain top of the standings with 22 points, and Scaloni chose to focus on the positives.
"I'm not here to criticise my players; I'm here to support them," Scaloni said. "We knew it was going to be a tough match. We're here to move forward.
"In the first half, we played a good game, but the first action at the start of the second half made everything more difficult. We have to congratulate the opponent, who defended very well.
"I don't know if they found the antidote [to beating Argentina]. We're hoping to get back on the positive path.
"The team always tries and stands tall. That's what's important: never giving up on the game and always having the desire to compete."
Paraguay are sixth in the table, having extended their unbeaten run to six matches, which also includes a win over Brazil.
They had to dig deep, having only 23.2% possession throughout the game, though they had eight shots to Argentina's nine and scored with both of their efforts on target.
Head coach Gustavo Alfaro is yet to lose a game since taking over Paraguay after the Copa America, and he hailed his team's resilience.
"With the rebelliousness of these players in the face of adversity, I have no doubt that we will get there. When the predisposition is so great, time is secondary," he said.
"They were fantastic points, very difficult. It is difficult to take a point from Argentina."
Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big
Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.
Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.
Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.
Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.
The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.
Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.
The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.
She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.
Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.
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