Harrogate Town AFC

We are back on home turf again this Saturday as we welcome Newport County to the EnviroVent Stadium.



How To Follow

The fixture will be shown live on our streaming service, with commentary provided by BBC Radio York.

Watch Live

Simon Weaver will be looking for an immediate reaction to the disappointing defeat in midweek away to
Tranmere and his side will have the added incentive of making amends for the last-minute loss in Wales when the two sides met back in October.



Since our last meeting

Despite playing with ten-men for much of the game, Town were on level terms thanks to Will Smith's equaliser until Brandon Cooper's late strike earned the Exiles all three points.

That win put County top of League Two but since then they have taken 15 points from the 13 games played and come into the game on the back of a seven-game winless streak, which includes five games on their travels.

However, Saturday's opponents remain well-placed in the table, currently in fifth spot within striking distance of the automatic promotion positions.

The man in charge

Mike Flynn is the man at the helm at Rodney Parade, having been in charge since 2017 following a spell as caretaker boss and has posted a 41% win percentage.

He had led the side to a playoff appearance in 2018 as well as high-profile FA Cup runs where they accounted for both Leeds and Leicester.

During his playing career he made over 400 appearances for a number of clubs, notably for County as well as Wigan, Gillingham, Blackpool, Huddersfield and Bradford.

Ones to Watch

County were delivered a blow at the start of the month when prolific forward Scott Twine was recalled from his loan spell by parent side Swindon Town. Twine had netted six times and added seven assists in just 18 starts.

They also lost forward Cooper who returned to Swansea City.

The goalscoring will need to be picked up by Padraig Amond and Tristan Abrahams, who have both netted eight times in all competitions.

Flynn has also seen notable contributions this season from Mickey Demetriou, Josh Sheehan and Matthew Dolan.

During the January window the club have added loan signings Luke Gambin and Jake Scrimshaw who have immediately come into the starting line-up.

History

Initially founded in 1912, County were re-formed in 1989 and worked their way back through the non-league set up to reach the Conference Premier for the 2010/11 season before a further promotion to League Two was earned following the 2012/13 season, where they have remained since.

One of their most famous seasons came back in 1980/81 when they reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners Cup before being defeated by Carl Zeiss Jena 3-2 on aggregate.

County subsequently slipped down the divisions though and found themselves relegated from the Football League in 1987/88 and were declared bankrupt the following season.



Make sure you order a copy of our match programme for a full history of Newport County, plus an interview with the impressive Ed Francis.

Match Programme

Team News

Defensive lynchpin Connor Hall will miss the game following his red card against Tranmere whilst Mitchell Roberts, Mark Beck and Joe Cracknell remain on the sidelines through injury, though there was more positive news around the recoveries of defensive duo Dan Jones and Will Smith this week.

Following impressive displays from the bench in recent games, new arrivals Josh March and Simon Power will be looking to press their claims for a starting spot.

The visitors will be without Josh Labadie following his dismissal in last weekends defeat to Oldham.