He was magic – Simon Weaver spellbound by Harrogate hero Ellis Taylor

Simon Weaver saluted “magic” man Ellis Taylor after Harrogate’s priceless 1-0 win at fellow Sky Bet League Two relegation rivals Barrow.

Taylor’s goal after seven minutes settled this fourth-tier dogfight and gave the Sulphurites hope of avoiding the drop.

They remain in the bottom two but are only two points behind three sides above them, including Barrow who are working under their new boss Dino Maamria.

“He was magic all night,” said Town manager Weaver after Taylor seized on a poor backpass by Jack Thompson and steered his shot into an unguarded net.

“That goal summed up his performance. It was a tight angle but he rolled it in with such composure.

“I am delighted for him and I am sure he is the fans’ favourite.”

Harrogate had gone 20 games without a win but have now claimed seven points from a possible nine.

“The music is on in the changing room, the players are buzzing off each other and everyone is happy,” added Weaver.

“But we have got to keep it going. We can enjoy the moment but we will enjoy it even more if we can keep a proper run going.

“It was a courageous performance all round. We knew it was a huge game so all credit to the players.

“We got right into it straightaway; from the B of the Bang, we were at it.

“The second half it was a different game and we showed a lot of guts. Barrow threw caution to the wind and we were up against it.

“But we stood up to the pressure to a man. The more we get positive results, the more it becomes a habit and then we have more belief.”

Barrow made the perfect start to Maamria’s reign with victory against Colchester last Saturday.

But they were flat here in the first half only to improve after the break. Charlie McCann curled a free-kick onto the crossbar and Elliot Newby fired over the rebound.

Newby missed another chance while substitute Josh Gordon, playing for the first time since New Year’s Day, also blazed wide.

Maamria said: “We didn’t start well and gave away a silly goal. Mistakes will happen.

“I thought we responded and took charge after 30 minutes. We played on the front foot and on another night we would have scored two or three.

“The only complaint was we panicked a bit in the attacking third. We snatched at chances instead of being composed.

“But no one can go home and say that team didn’t care. They covered every blade of grass, played some good football in spells and that gave me a lot of hope.

“On any other night we would have got the three points.”