Jamaican striker Jamille Matt fired home his seventh goal of the season to secure Forest Green Rovers a hard-earned 1-0 victory at Harrogate Town in an English League Two match on December 5 and continue their push for promotion.
The visitors did not manage a shot on target until the 54th minute when Nicky Cadden’s firm drive called home goalkeeper James Belshaw into action at his near post.
Three minutes later, Cadden turned provider, racing past Harrogate right-back Ryan Fallowfield before pulling the ball back from the byline for 31-year-old Matt to stab in from close range and settle matters, having scored his side’s equaliser in a 1-1 home draw against leaders Newport County on Tuesday night.
Matt’s decider, which lifted Forest Green to third in the table, made it an unhappy return to Wetherby Road for Harrogate fans, who were welcomed back to the ground for the first time since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The defeat extended Harrogate’s run without a home victory to a fifth game in all competitions, matching the club’s worst sequence since 2012.
Forest Green’s head coach Mark Cooper later praised his side’s organization and grit, adding, “It was a different kind of performance.
“We weren’t brilliant today but it was about showing spirit, desire and diligence on a difficult pitch which we did.”
In League One, teenage striker Tyreece John-Jules followed up his goal in a losing cause at leaders Hull City on Wednesday night by scoring again in eighth-placed Doncaster Rovers’ 2-0 win at 10-man Northampton Town.
London-born John-Jules, 19, whose paternal grandparents are from Dominica and is on loan from Premier League club Arsenal, opened the scoring in the 36th minute.
Mark Marshall lost possession and John-Jules nipped in before dinking the ball over goalkeeper Steve Arnold, who was at Forest Green between 2014 and 2016.
Rovers scored their second just short of the hour-mark through Joe Wright before John-Jules stung the palms of Arnold, the goalkeeper then pulling off a fine penalty save from Benjamin Whiteman late on.
