County will be looking to consolidate their position in the League Two play-off places this weekend, when we travel to Harrogate Town looking for our first away win of 2023.
Victory against Tranmere last Saturday ended a three-match winless run for Dave Challinor’s side and saw us finally climb into the top seven for the first time this season, following dropped points elsewhere for Bradford, Swindon and Barrow.
We now sit nine points off the automatic promotion places, with a game in hand on third place Carlisle United. A win at the EnviroVent Stadium on Saturday could see us climb above Mansfield into 6th place, should they drop points against Gillingham, but defeat could see us fall as far as 12th in what is an increasingly congested table. No team from Mansfield in 6th down to Tranmere in 15th have one more than one of their last four league games, emphasising just how competitive the division is right now.
Harrogate, now in their third season as an EFL Club, currently find themselves in the middle of the relegation dogfight, sat three points above the relegation zone in 20th. They gave their survival chances a real shot in the arm last time out however, securing a surprise 1-0 win away at high-flying Carlisle, thanks to a late own goal from former County man Paul Huntington.
Please note that all away tickets for this fixture have now SOLD OUT.
Since we last met:
County have won once already at the EnviroVent Stadium this season, with a Connor Jennings’ penalty securing passage through to the second round of the Carabao Cup back in August.
When the two sides met at Edgeley Park a month later however, both were struggling desperately for form. A tepid 0-0 draw left County with just two wins from our opening nine league games back in the EFL, keeping us in 16th place.
A point on the road did end a four-game losing run for Simon Weaver’s side, but they were unable to build on it, losing their next three to leave them hovering above the relegation zone – only goal difference keeping them out of the bottom two.
By the time they were beaten by league leaders Leyton Orient in mid-November, the Yorkshire side had just one win from 14 league games to their name, confirming their status as candidates for the drop.
Then, suddenly, a spark. A stunning 3-0 home win against play-off chasing Mansfield in their next game was quickly followed by wins against Rochdale and Grimsby Town – all of a sudden, they had pulled seven points clear of the drop zone.
The wins have dried up somewhat in recent weeks, but they have proven a much more difficult nut to crack since that run. There have been narrow 1-0 defeats to the likes of Bradford and Sutton, whilst they also claimed an impressive point against title-chasing Stevenage prior to that shock win at Carlisle last time out.
One to watch:
A man known well by Dave Challinor, and a footballing heritage known by many County fans, striker Luke Armstrong has been Harrogate’s most consistent source of goals this season.
Son of County legend Alun, the 26-year-old was a key part of DC’s Hartlepool United side that went on to secure promotion from the National League via the play-offs, scoring in the final as the Monkey Hangers saw off Torquay United on penalties.
Armstrong completed a move to Harrogate later that Summer, scoring 14 times in all competitions last season. He is well on track to surpass that record this campaign, having already reached double figures in League Two with ten – only five players in the division have scored more. He comes into this game with eight goals in his last ten outings.
Match Stats:
- Following last week’s win at Tranmere, County now sit top of the form table over the last 15 games in League Two, collecting 30 points. Harrogate sit 13th in that table, having picked up 19 points. Interestingly, they have scored the same amount of goals as County in that period (25), with only Carlisle scoring more, but have also conceded 25 goals compared to County’s eight.
- This will be the 16th competitive meeting between the two sides. Both sides have won six of the previous 15 meetings, with just three draws. Our only previous league win away at Harrogate came on Boxing Day 2016, thanks to a sensational goal from Courtney Meppen-Walter.
- If selected, Ben Hinchliffe will make County history this weekend by appearing for the 307th time – an all-time record for a County goalkeeper, surpassing Tiger Bowles.
- Kyle Wootton has now been directly involved in more goals than any other Stockport County player this season, scoring nine and assisting five.
