Harrogate boost survival bid in draw with Northampton

Luke Armstrong’s 11th goal of the season saw Harrogate edge five points clear of the League Two trapdoor following a 1-1 home draw with promotion hopefuls Northampton.

The Sulphurites gained a point on second-bottom Crawley as Armstrong cancelled out Mitch Pinnock’s opener for the Cobblers.

Earlier, Harrogate had the best chance of the opening 45 minutes but Danny Grant headed wastefully wide from Levi Sutton’s right-wing cross and his side have now scored just one first-half goal in their last 10 contests.

Instead, the Cobblers broke the deadlock in the 49th minute after Harrogate’s on-loan Southampton winger Kazeem Olaigbe had given the ball away in his own half.

Pinnock’s 25-yard drive then took a big deflection off Anthony O’Connor and spun into keeper Mark Oxley’s bottom left corner.

But the hosts’ response was swift as the scores were levelled within a minute. Jack Muldoon sent in a low cross from the left and Armstrong made space for a shot and found the bottom right corner from 15 yards.