Carlisle United 0 Harrogate Town 1: Has Simon Weaver finally found what he's been looking for?

Signing an entirely new back-four during the January transfer window might seem rather an extreme solution, though that is exactly what Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver opted to do last month.

Centre-halves Anthony O’Connor and Tom Eastman, left-back Matty Foulds and the versatile Toby Sims all arrived at Wetherby Road last month, with every one bar the latter playing starring roles as the Sulphurites kept a first clean-sheet in nine attempts when they edged out Carlisle United on Saturday.

That trio were all recruited from teams currently occupying higher rungs of the Football League ladder than Town and boast plenty of League Two experience – particularly O’Connor and Eastman.

And their performances alongside summer signing Kayne Ramsay during this weekend’s 1-0 success in Cumbria provided exactly the kind of defensive solidity that Weaver says he has been searching for for some time.

"I’m proud of the defensive side of the game today. I thought that they were outstanding as a unit back there," the Harrogate boss reflected.

"Every ball into the box was met with aggression and anticipation, they were reading danger – and sometimes that is what we have missed as a team, for several years, to be honest.

"Now we have got players of pedigree in there who understand how to defend, who have sharp instincts in the box, which bodes well for us and hopefully we can keep it going now.”

Weaver was particularly impressed with centre-halves Eastman and O’Connor, singling the latter out for praise for both his performance and the impact he has made since joining Town from League One Morecambe.

"Anthony O’Connor’s three starts for us so far, he’s been absolutely superb, top-drawer. You can see that experience shining through,” he added.

"He’s brought that to training too. We are at a serious level of football aren’t we. We can’t keep trying to coach from the touchline, these are dog-eat-dog games.

"It’s up to us in the week and it is hard work in training and we identify strengths and weaknesses in the opposition, but then you’ve got to relinquish control on a Saturday and allow the players to go and play.

"But you do need your senior players leading it and directing things, and I thought that the two centre-halves were instrumental in the win today.”

Saturday’s much-needed victory at Carlisle really did owe plenty to how well Harrogate defended as it was achieved without them managing to register a single shot on target during the course of the afternoon.

The moment which ultimately decided the outcome of the contest arrived on 82 minutes when United defender Paul Huntington attempted to play the ball back to goalkeeper Tomas Holy, but only succeeded in passing it into his own net.

That win was Town’s first in six matches and sees them climb one place to 20th in the League Two standings, maintaining the three-point gap between them and the relegation zone.