Harrogate Town preview

[Sweden Stag]

After drawing 1-1 at home to Colchester United last Friday night, the Stags will now face a new side to preview history at headquarters on Tuesday night. The tale is of Harrogate Town, promoted to League Two this season after beating Notts County to a 3-1 scoreline, condemning the Magpies to at least one more season outside the EFL.

In the EFL, Harrogate Town have so far more than held their own and will probably finish around mid-table. They started life in League Two with a comprehensive 4-0 victory at bottom club Southend but have faltered a bit in recent weeks, and lost 3-0 at Leyton Orient last Saturday.

Recent history shows that Harrogate Town were inaugural members of the current National League North when the leagues below the current National League were restructured around 2004 and stayed there until the 2017-18 campaign when Harrogate Town were promoted via the playoff after having gone head-to-head with another quite new EFL club, namely Salford.

In the 2018-19 season, Harrogate Town much more than held their own in the Conf National, eventually finishing sixth. A position which was bettered last season when the club was in second position, four points below Barrow when play was halted. While Barrow were voted back into the EFL as declared winners, Harrogate were playoff material. Well there, they disposed of Boreham Wood in the semifinals before entering the EFL via the above-mentioned playoff victory.

There has at least been TWO players who have played for the Stags and Harrogate Town in recent history. Research has revealed that Paul Bolland was the first one. Ten games for the Stags followed a loan move to Harrogate Town where he played 55 Conference North games over two seasons around 2012-13. And in the 2012-13 season, Harrogate Town reached the FA Cup second round for the first time. After beating Torquay, Harrogate Town lost the second round away replay at Hastings on penalties after an epic tie. The winner was drawn away to Middlesbrough in the third round, that same third round in which the Stags played Liverpool at headquarters.

The second player is John McCombe. Signed by Paul Cox upon the League Two return, he managed just a handful games for the Stags before leaving for York City. After playing for Macclesfield and Chester, McCombe signed for Harrogate Town and played 14 games for them during the 2017-18 before leaving for Boston United without playing. The most recent club for McCombe was Hyde United, a side the Stags faced during the 2012-13 conf winning campaign.

A third player is Warren Burrell, who came on as sub at Dagenham & Redbridge in May 2008 and has so far this season been ever-present for Harrogate Town.

Adi Yussuf played two games for Harrogate Town in 2014 before his tenure at the Stags, while Lee Gregory played for Harrogate in 2009.

But the Stags have faced another Harrogate side in preview history. On December 2, 2007, the Stags won a second round FA Cup tie away to Harrogate Railway (who a few years earlier had made Bristol City work hard to progress) to a 3-2 scoreline, setting up a third round tie at current PL side Brighton.

Before reaching the FA Cup second cup in 2012-13, Harrogate Town had reached the first round a decade earlier for the first time ever, losing at Farnborough to a 5-1 scoreline. In 2005-06, the first round was reached again, only to lose a replay against Torquay on penalties, but revenge was sealed in 2012 when Harrogate again were drawn against the Gulls. On November 3, 2012, Harrogate clipped the Gulls at a venue well-known to the previewer. At Plainmoor, Harrogate triumphed to a 1-0 scoreline and the long journey home to Yorkshire was definitely victorious.

Now, the Stags face Harrogate Town for the first time ever. Come on Mansfield!

[Tippy Tappy Football]

Warren Burrell is a former Stags youth team player. He normally plays left back or on the left of a back three. I'm sure Simon Weaver said in the Harrogate documentary that he had played most positions for Harrogate. Jack Muldoon used to play for Worksop Town in the Northern Premier League. Aaron Martin played for Staveley Miners Welfare.

[bear 73]

Nice insight to the opposition thank you and appreciated

[Dave Wayne]

Warren Burrell is a former Stags youth team player. He normally plays left back or on the left of a back three. I'm sure Simon Weaver said in the Harrogate documentary that he had played most positions for Harrogate. Jack Muldoon used to play for Worksop Town in the Northern Premier League. Aaron Martin played for Staveley Miners Welfare.

Burrell probably holds the record for the longest time between his first and second EFL appearances.
Came on as a sub for us in the final game of our relegation season away at Dagenham in May 2008, playing the final half hour, and then didn't play another EFL game until September 2020 with Harrogate.

[iansmith]

Good read Sweden. Many thanks. Definitely right about there being at least two players who have played for both sides. As far as i can remember Adi Yussaf was at Harrogate at some stage and we also loaned them a young Lee Gregory. But very happy to be corrected if my memory is not as good as i think!

[Sweden Stag]

Good read Sweden. Many thanks. Definitely right about there being at least two players who have played for both sides. As far as i can remember Adi Yussaf was at Harrogate at some stage and we also loaned them a young Lee Gregory. But very happy to be corrected if my memory is not as good as i think!

Both are correct and I have added both into my preview. Thanks.