After demolishing Doncaster Rovers last weekend County return to Edgeley Park on Saturday looking for a third straight win in League Two, against an in-form Harrogate Town side.
Five headed goals saw Dave Challinor’s side romp to victory at the Eco-Power Stadium last time out, our first league win at Doncaster since 1969. Those three points, coupled with defeats elsewhere for Mansfield Town and Crewe Alexandra, saw County stretch their lead at the top of the table to five points, whilst the gap to fourth place Barrow now stands at seven points with a game in hand.
Four of the current top seven are set to go head-to-head elsewhere in League Two on Saturday, as Mansfield host Notts County at the One Call Stadium, whilst Barrow are at home to MK Dons. Crewe travel to an in-form Tranmere Rovers side, whilst 2nd place Wrexham go to a Salford City team unbeaten under new manager Karl Robinson.
Without a game last weekend, opponents Harrogate Town were in midweek action in League Two as they travelled to bottom of the table Sutton United. A double from veteran striker Jack Muldoon secured a 2-1 victory for Simon Weaver’s side, a sixth win in eight league outings that has lifted the Sulphurites up to eighth, just one point off the play-off places.
Things you need to know:
- Tickets in the Vitality Railway End are still available for this fixture, with all other stands now sold out! Click here to order yours today!
- As part of our County Collective programme, we aim to make Edgeley Park a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone who visits. Click here to see a full list of new initiatives that have been introduced at the ground this year!
- Don’t forget to turn up early to Edgeley Park to visit the County Courtyard, which will be opening its doors from 1.00pm! For more information on all the food and drink on offer this week, click here.
- Coming to the game on Saturday? Click here to view our Fan Information pack, containing all you need to know ahead of your visit to Edgeley Park.
- This fixture will be available for overseas supporters to watch over on Stockport County Live, whilst featuring live match audio commentary from Jon Keighren and Sam Byrne will be available for supporters in the UK. Click here to purchase your video match passes today.
Since we last met:
The reverse fixture between these two sides in October was a memorable one for County, as we moved top of League Two for the first time this season thanks to goals from Antoni Sarcevic, Will Collar and a Will Burrell own goal. Over three months on from that game, we are yet to relinquish top spot.
Whilst not much has changed for Dave Challinor’s side since that day, Harrogate come to Edgeley Park this weekend looking a very different proposition to the side who had slipped to 17th after what was a third straight home defeat.
Weaver’s men have picked up 27 points from the 15 games since that day, form that would have them in a play-off position over that period as they leave any concerns of a relegation battle firmly in the distance. They are just nine points shy of their total for the whole of last season, and only 14 off their record points tally in the EFL.
Only MK Dons have picked up more points than Harrogate’s 22 over the last ten games, with six wins picked up from their last eight outings. Although four of those wins came against sides currently in the bottom six, they have also beaten play-off chasing Notts County 3-1 and claimed a credible point at home to Wrexham.
Their away record this season would also suggest this recent run is no flash in the pan – 26 points picked up from 14 games on their travels so far, which is currently the best points-per-game record away from home in the division. They have lost just one of their last nine league games away from the EnviroVent Stadium.
Such impressive figures have now catapulted the side to the edge of the play-off places, with just one point separating them and Notts in 7th. Despite having to manage most of the season without the previously talismanic striker Luke Armstrong, who has since completed a move to Carlisle United, the Yorkshire side have continued to churn out results, with Jack Muldoon enjoying something of a renaissance up front.
That brace at Sutton on Tuesday night took the former Fylde forward’s tally to five goals in his last six games in League Two, with his total of eight for the campaign already double what he managed across the whole of last season. His form in many ways is symbolic of a Harrogate side coming to SK3 with their tails up – another win on the road here would make it hard to discount them as genuine play-off contenders.
Match Stats:
- County come into this game looking to complete a first ever league double over Harrogate Town, in what is the 18th competitive meeting between the two sides. In that period, we have won eight games to Harrogate’s six.
- Although we have won three of our last four meetings at the EnviroVent Stadium, we will be looking to record a first home win over the Sulphurites since April 2015, having lost one and drawn three of the subsequent four encounters at Edgeley Park.
- Tanto Olaofe grabbed his 15th league goal of the season against Doncaster last week, becoming the first County player to hit that milestone in the EFL since Liam Dickinson hit 19 during our 2007/08 promotion-winning season.
- After his brace last weekend, Paddy Madden now has seven goals in his last seven games in League Two. The Irishman took his tally to 13 for the season, already more than he managed in the whole of 2022/23.
