Confidence sky high at Harrogate but Ainge faces injury worry

(Picture: @HarrogateTown)
By  Matt Badcock
SIMON AINGE says confidence is sky high at Harrogate Town as they made is six wins from seven on Bank Holiday Monday – but Town’s goalscoring sensation is waiting to find out the extent of a leg injury that forced him off.
After a hat-trick on Saturday against Tamworth took his season tally to nine, the former Guiseley and Luton Town defender-turned striker was looking to keep in the goals at Blyth Spartans.
But he had to go off during the 2-0 win with an injury to his abductor longus muscle.
He’s seeing a consultant on Wednesday to confirm the problem and how long he could be out for.
“It’s frustrating but I suppose that’s part of the game,” Ainge, who has scored 29 goals in 2017 since being converted to a striker by boss Simon Weaver partway through last season, said. “I’ve been lucky because I’ve not really had an injuries in my career.
“The fact we’re full-time is good because that will give me the best chance to come back stronger hopefully fairly soon and carry on scoring goals.
“But the boys will be fine. We’ve been playing some really good football and we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing.
“We’ve got a few other players to come back from injury too so hopefully we can carry on doing as well as we have in the first month of the season.”
Weaver’s side are the league’s top scorers after seven games having found the net 22 times already. On Saturday they play the team they are level on points with at the top of the National League North table, Brackley Town.
And Ainge felt Harrogate showed the grittier side to their game with a ten-man win against Blyth.
“There’s a lot of confidence in the changing room but I think Blyth was a different performance,” said Ainge, who has now scored four hat-tricks for the club.
“I had to go off, then we had a man sent off so we had to really grind it out. That showed we’ve got that in us, which is good. We’ve been on top in most games and scoring goals whereas on Monday we were digging in a bit.
“We’re keeping clean sheets too. Terry Kennedy has recently come into the team. He played in the Championship and League One for Sheffield United.
“He’s still a young lad, a centre-half, and he looks really good from the last few games. The ball seems to be attracted to him in the box, which isn’t a bad thing for a defender.”