Harrogate boss Simon Weaver heralded an “epic” first half as his team stormed to a 6-1 win over 10-man Scunthorpe.

Town were 5-0 up against a sorry Scunthorpe at half-time thanks to braces from Jack Muldoon and Alex Pattison, and Jack Diamond’s goal.

Harry Davis responded for the visitors after the break, but sub Danilo Orsi completed the rout from the penalty spot – after Lewis Thompson was shown a second yellow card – in front of a crowd of 3,180, which represented a league record for Harrogate, who also earned their EFL-record win.

A delighted Weaver said: “It was great to capitalise on the feel-good factor. Everybody is really in this together and there’s a great vibe within the club.

“The terraces got right behind the team and the first half, in our minds, was epic. It made us all so happy and it was a monumental effort from the players.

“We broke at pace at times and blew them away, which was very pleasing. We mauled them from early on and, if we did not win the first ball, we won the second one, which is vital at this level and we then showed our quality in the final third.

“It’s a shame we did not keep a clean sheet and I wanted the team to smell blood and keep going but I’m pleased we upped our levels again and scored another goal after conceding.

“We were overdue a good performance at home and the players can have a couple of days off now to enjoy that and then it’s back to work again.”

The heavy defeat was Scunthorpe’s worst since a 6-0 Championship thumping at Norwich in 2011 and increased the pressure on boss Neil Cox, who has now overseen just one win in the team’s last 24 contests.

It was also witnessed by almost 600 visiting fans and, commenting on his position, Cox said: “That’s up to the chairman and I just have to get on with things, while having another look at myself in the mirror.

“I’m absolutely raging, but I’ve got to make sure my language remains right. A lot of our supporters travelled here and paid their money and our performance was not good enough.

“The game’s not always about tactics – you need to show belief and pride in your shirt, because you’re representing the club, your team-mates and your family. We looked naive and got bullied.

“There is some heart in the team, but not too much know-how. Sometimes, if a team is on a counter-attack against you, you have to bring somebody down and take a booking for the team.

“I’ve spoken to the players, had my say and looked them all in the eyes. They were told what to expect during the opening 20 minutes from them, but we found ourselves 3-0 down. It’s a difficult season, but we have to go again.”