Clear skies and a mild evening met us at the impressive Hull City Academy complex at Bishop Burton College.
Playing on a 3G Surface the Town youngsters started well against an organised, experienced Hull City set up who looked after the ball very well and were patient.The fledgling Town side kept Hull in the areas of the pitch they wanted, allowing them to play in front of them and protecting the flanks and central areas very well.
Both keepers were kept on their toes but it was Hull who struck first with a cracking shot from outside the box.
On the restart, Town settled back in to their game, keeping their lines and asking question in the final third on an increasing basis, before a quick fire counter saw Town equalise through Joe Payette.
Hull came close to adding a second before the break from the penalty spot, but a brilliant one handed stop from Frank Greenwood kept the scores level going into half time.
The second period started brightly and Hull took an early lead, but Town bounced straight back with an equaliser from Nathan Young.
Town then took the lead with swift direct play and a one on one finished off by Payette, his second of the evening.
Hull stepped up the tempo and pressed hard to equalise, pulling level late on before pinching a very late winner which did not reflect the balance of the game, a draw probably been a fairer result.
Another great experience for our PDC Academy U14/15 Squad and another notch in learning.
The team will be back to Academy training the next evening, marking a busy week of development football.
#PlayTheTownWay
Harrogate Town: Frank Greenwood, Luke Plant, Tom Flint, Ben Green, Alfie Shaw, Tom Addley, Ethan Simpson, Sam Wright-Manzano, Danny Wilson, Lewis Kettlewell, Joe Payette, Harry Mills, Alex Rennocks, Nathan Young
Goals: Joe Payette x2, Nathan Young