Newport make the long journey up to Harrogate on Tuesday evening as the Sulphurites host the Exiles in Sky Bet League Two. The two sides have experienced similar seasons so far with just two points between them, the hosts sit just three points off the play offs.
Harrogate Town AFC were formed in 1919, they play at The EnviroVent Stadium (HG2 7SG). The Sulphurites gained football league status for the first time in their history through the winning the National League Play offs at Wembley in 2020 where they beat Notts County 3-1. Their best season in the football league came in their first where they finished 17th picking up 57 points, they now have 48 points with 13 games to go, with 39 points still up for grabs the Sulphurites look sure to break their record.
Harrogate's last FIVE games:
Home to Walsall: 2-0 loss
Away to Crewe: 0-0 draw
Away to Mansfield: 9-2 loss
Home to Colchester: 1-0 win
Away to Stockport- 1-1 draw
Harrogate’s Season so far:
· The Sulphurites have played 33, winning 14, drawing 6 and losing 13.
· Their top scorer is George Thomson, who's scored 10 and assisted 3.
· They were knocked out of the FA Cup second round losing 5-1 to Bolton Wanderers and out of the EFL Cup second round losing 8-0 to Blackburn Rovers.
Newport’s last FIVE games:
Away to MK Dons: 3-0 loss
Home to Gillingham: 1-0 win
Home to Notts County: 3-1 loss
Away to Walsall: 3-0 win
Home to Swindon: 2-1 win
Newport’s Season so far:
· The Exile shave played 33, won 13, drawn 7 and lost 13.
· Their top scorer is Will Evans who’s scored 22 and assisted 2.
· The Exiles were knocked out of the FA Cup fourth round to Manchester United losing 4-2 and out of the Carabao Cup second round losing to Brentford 3-0 on penalties.
The Last Time Out:
The last time the two teams faced each other was in October 2023 at Rodney Parade, in which the away side went home with all three points in a 2-1 win.
Midfielder George Thomson gave Harrogate the lead just before half time with a well taken strike from outside the box which found Nick Townsend rooted to the spot.
Newport went into the second half with it all to do, despite this they didn't make it any easier for themselves as Anthony O'Connor doubled the away sides lead after just seven minutes into the second half. A Harrogate corner found O'Connor who leapt towards the far post, past Ryan Delaney and heads it in beyond Nick Townsend in goal. The home side now had a mountain to climb, up stepped 'Mr Reliable' in the 58th minute. Aaron Wildig laid off Lewis Payne who's cross into the box is met by a sliding Will Evans who's attempt finds the bottom left. Despite having another 30 minutes to salvage something, it wasn't enough and the away side went home with all three points.
Head-to-head:
Newport and Harrogate have faced each other on just seven occasions. Both sides winning three each and drawing once. Over the seven times there's been 26 goals, averaging over 3.7 goals per game. Of these 26 goals 16 of them come from the Exiles. The Ironsides have won 4-0 on two separate occasions.
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