Harrogate Town home preview

[Sweden Stag]

After the home defeat against runaway champions Leyton Orient last Tuesday night, the Stags now play the final home fixture of the regular season. And the opponents are Harrogate Town, who themselves definitely secured their League Two survival by beating Newport County to a 3-2 scoreline in a fixture which saw three goals inside the first ten minutes.

Yet Harrogate Town are a side which in preview history have suited the Stags very badly. The previous five games against them have seen just a Stags point, a goal-less draw at Harrogate last season which then meant that a record-breaking Stags EFL winning run of eight consecutive victories came to an end. That was also the Stags’ first-ever point against Harrogate Town.

That one might have been the revenge mission at Harrogate Town as they beat the Stags to a 3-1 scoreline at One Call in the corresponding fixture early on last season, a feisty encounter which saw two Stags red cards in quick succession moments after the ref officiating then missed a stonewall penalty for the Stags. All the Stags defeats against Harrogate have been forgettable ones.

But unlike some other fellow strugglers, Harrogate Town have not pulled the panic button or trigger when it comes to management. Their current boss, Simon Weaver, have managed in North Yorkshire ever since the year 2009, a very good feat in modern football. Weaver has overseen the Harrogate rise from Conf North to League Two, where Harrogate Town now are in their third-ever EFL campaign.

The home fixture last season and the ones between the sides in 2020-21 highlighted very much the Stags’ problems against newly-promoted sides in preview history. The proof: both games against Harrogate were lost by the only goal of the game after very poor displays, enough printed. The Stags also lost both games against that season’s other promoted side, namely Barrow AFC. And in the season before, the Stags lost both games against Leyton Orient and the one which was played against Salford City. Last season, the Stags lost both fixtures against Sutton as well.

The 2020-21 season was Harrogate Town’s first ever in the EFL. Well there, they finished lower mid-table, one position below the Stags and lost ten home games, only Oldham and relegated Southend lost more on home soil last term. But Harrogate Town won eight games on the road, including their debut game, a comprehensive 4-0 victory at Southend almost a year ago. Last season, Harrogate Town also lost ten at headquarters, more than any other surviving League Two side. Only last season’s two relegated sides, Oldham and Scunthorpe, lost more games at headquarters than Harrogate Town.

And in Harrogate’s third League Two campaign, they have been bottom-half material. But there has at time been goals left right and centre at both ends in several games. The proof: 56 goals scored, by far the most of all sides in the bottom half, but 66 conceded. Only the current bottom three, including the sides which are to be relegated, have shipped more. And their last six games, including a very creditable 2-2 draw at Leyton Orient, have seen 24 goals in total at both ends.

While Harrogate now have survival secured, the Stags still have the chance to sneak into the playoffs. Elsewhere, Carlisle and Salford face each other as do Northampton and Bradford City. Meanwhile, Stockport County face an awkward trip to Leyton Orient. And the Stags need to better the results of Salford and Bradford City. The playoff race is still very open. And it speaks volumes that the Stags still have the chance to reach them despite a, to print the least, crippling injury list.

There has at least been THREE 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.

Warren Burrell played in the Stags’ final 2007-08 League Two fixture at Dagenham & Redbridge but has represented Harrogate Town since 2016, having played in over 200 EFL and Conf games since then. Player to watch out for: Luke Armstrong, 16 goals this season, an impressive return in a bottom-half side

Before reaching the FA Cup second round 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.

About time to break the Harrogate hoodoo on Saturday. Come on Mansfield!