Harrogate set a club record of nine league wins in a row thanks to a dramatic 25-24 home win over National Two North title hopefuls Macclesfield.

Harrogate scored two late tries and then held on for 15 minutes to maintain their one-point lead.

Coach Mike Aspinall told BBC Radio York: "I'm absolutely elated, we just had to did in really hard at the end.

"The forwards really matched up and we knew if they matched up there, the back line could cause them trouble."

Macclesfield scored four tries in a row to lead 24-15 midway through the second half, but Harrogate's Steve Parsons scored a brace of tries to turn the game.

"We were down and out to a degree," Aspinall added. "But we wanted to keep the faith, keep working, and, sooner or later, a bit of luck would come our way.

"There's no better man in the league to take the chances than Parsons. They were outstanding finishes, both of them."

Aspinall was very pleased with the defensive display that protected their lead until the final whistle.

"We really stuck it up there, I can imagine [Macclesfield coach] Geoff Wappett would have been very frustrated but it did the job for us."

Harrogate now have three away games to end their season because of the winter weather.

Off the field, the club will continue to raise funds to repurchase their Claro Road ground, and will address the players' concerns over their futures.

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