Harrogate Town scored three times in five first-half minutes to beat Sutton United 3-1 and record a fifth successive National League victory, with substitute George Thomson providing an assist and a goal after replacing the injured Will McGowan.
Harrogate created several chances before the breakthrough, but Sutton goalkeeper Spike Brits kept the visitors level. He denied Archie Baptiste after the defender controlled Michael Craig’s corner, saved a McGowan effort and then tipped over Josh Hmami’s glancing header from a free-kick.
McGowan was forced off in the 27th minute and his replacement Thomson made an immediate contribution. Three minutes later, he found Bailey Hobson in space and the Harrogate captain advanced past Dan Urpens before finishing beyond Brits for his fifth goal in seven matches.
Sutton’s problems deepened just two minutes later when Hmami dispossessed Urpens near the visitors’ penalty area. Brad Dolaghan broke through and drew Brits towards him before squaring for Hmami to finish into the empty net and double Harrogate’s lead.
The hosts added a third in the 35th minute. Hmami released Ethan Bristow on the left and the defender found Thomson inside the penalty area, where the substitute took a touch before driving a low left-footed shot across Brits and into the far corner. Harrogate had turned a goalless contest into a 3-0 lead in just five minutes.
Sutton manager Chris Agutter made three changes at half-time, introducing Bobby Amartey, Sam Folarin and Brandon Njoku for Dan Urpens, David Ogbonna and Temi Babalola. The visitors improved after the restart, although Harrogate almost added another when Dolaghan narrowly failed to convert Bristow’s cross at the near post.
Sutton suffered an injury setback when Jordan Moore-Taylor was forced off, but his replacement Besart Topallaj helped create their goal in the 74th minute. Topallaj won possession and Omar Mussa carried the ball through midfield before releasing Folarin on the right. The former Harrogate forward crossed low for Ben Brookes to finish at the far post, scoring his first goal for Sutton.
The visitors threatened to reduce the deficit further as Folarin had an effort deflected narrowly wide. With five minutes remaining, Amartey met a Brookes free-kick at the far post, but Harrogate goalkeeper Luke Hutchinson kept out his close-range attempt with his feet.
Harrogate held on to secure a fifth consecutive league victory despite Sutton’s improved second-half performance. Simon Weaver praised his side’s first-half display afterwards, while acknowledging that the visitors had made the closing stages more difficult.
The victory kept Harrogate second in the National League with 31 points from 14 matches, seven behind unbeaten leaders Boreham Wood and three ahead of Southend United. Sutton dropped to 16th on 18 points after extending their winless league run to six matches.
