Ex-Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Coventry man earns Football League's bottom club first win in 21 games
The midfielder’s first goal since December 2024 helps earn priceless win for the strugglers
A former Pompey man has finally ended the Football League’s bottom club’s agonising four-and-a-half month wait for a win.
Just as remarkable, it also represented Bryn Morris’ first goal since scoring a hat-trick in December 2024.
The U’s had been riding high in League Two, placed second, with ex-Pompey favourite Sean Raggett on their bench following his deadline day loan arrival from Rotherham.
A first league win since September 27
However, they were shocked by Simon Weaver’s strugglers, who entered the game without a league win since September 27.
Morris opened the scoring on eight minutes, with a superb first-time shot from outside the box past one-time Blues loanee Jake Eastwood after Emile Acquah's shot was initially blocked.
Then, on 24 minutes, Sutton curled in a shot which handed the hosts a precious 2-0 advantage over the U’s.
Neil Harris’ side pulled one back through Liam Bennett four minutes later, but they couldn’t find the equaliser as Harrogate held on for their first league win in 21 matches.
For Morris, who suffered a frustrating two-and-a-half year spell at Fratton Park, it was a maiden goal for Sulphurites since joining in January 2025.
Indeed, he had gone 57 matches without scoring in all competitions since bagging a 24-minute hat-trick for Newport County in December 2024.
That arrived in a 6-3 victory over MK Dons in League Two, yet he would make just one more appearance for Newport before being bought by Harrogate for an undisclosed fee.
20 league games without a victory
Certainly his maiden goal for the club after 56 appearances was well received by fans of the North Yorkshire club, who have endured a miserable season.
During their 20 league games without a win, they had lost 16 matches, although had collected three victories in the EFL Trophy in that period.
Morris has racked up 14 different clubs since starting his career at Middlesbrough, including an injury-ravaged spell at Pompey.
Kenny Jackett paid an undisclosed fee to land him from Shrewsbury in January 2019, as the Blues boss attempted to strengthen their position at the top of League One.
However, injuries restricted him to just five starts during the second half of that season as Pompey slipped to fourth, before losing to Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals.
Tom Naylor controversy
Morris subsequently didn’t make a single league appearance in the 2019-20 campaign, which was curtailed following the Covid outbreak in March 2020.
With Pompey subsequently losing the two-legged fixture on penalties, Morris started the 2020-21 campaign alongside Naylor in the centre of midfield, before being loaned out to Northampton.
After 28 Pompey appearances and one goal, he was handed a free transfer in the summer of 2021 and would later represent Hartlepool, Burton, Grimsby, Newport County and now Harrogate Town.