Harrogate Town AFC

Town will be looking to make it three wins in a week as we entertain Tranmere Rovers this coming weekend.

The 2-1 victory over Hartlepool a week ago was followed up with a repeat of the same scoreline on Tuesday when a late Miles Welch-Hayes winner was enough to see off Morecambe in the Papa Johns Trophy.

BUY TICKETS

Our opponents

Rovers come into the game in red-hot form having shaken off some early season inconsistency and made it five league wins in a row last time out when they saw off Crewe with a comprehensive 5-0 win.

As well as posting a maximum return from their past five games they have also not conceded during that time, replicating the fine defensive form of a season ago that kept them in the promotion hunt until late in the season.

Their recent run has included three consecutive wins on the road after starting the campaign winless in their first four outings.

Last season

Goals from Jack Muldoon and Luke Armstrong overturned Jay Spearing's early penalty in the game at The Envirovent Stadium last season only for Kieron Morris to grab an equaliser ten minutes into the second half.



In the return game Lewis Warrington and Kane Hemmings netted in the second half to ensure a 2-0 win after Town had been reduced to ten men.

Town though did come out on tops in the Papa Johns Trophy round of 32 clash at Prenton Park when Alex Pattison and Jack Muldoon sealed a 2-1 win after Nicky Maynard had opened the scoring early on.

The man in charge

Scot and former-Tranmere player Micky Mellon is back at the helm after a previous five-year spell in charge between 2016 and 2020. He has also managed Fleetwood, Shrewbsury and Dundee United.

During his playing career he made almost 500 appearances for Rovers, as well as Bristol City, Blackpool and West Brom.

Ones to watch

Rovers revamped their defence in the summer following the departure of veteran Peter Clark. Ross Doohan signed permanently after an impressive stint in goal on loan from Celtic, whilst the club also added former-Salford man Jordan Turnbull and full-back Ethan Bristow from Reading. Dynel Simeu also arrived on loan from Southampton.

Elliott Nevitt leads the way with four goals so far with Kane Hemmings in support with three goals and three assists to his name.

Creativity in midfield will likely come from Josh Hawkes and Kieron Morris.

History

The late-1980's saw Rovers start their rise through the divisions under John King following a period in the lower reaches.

The early-1990's saw them climb up to Championship level, propelled by an attacking line-up featuring the likes of John Aldridge, Ian Muir, John Morrissey and Chris Malkin, with Aldridge being appointed as manager in 1995.

Relegations soon followed though, and Rovers would drop out of the league at the end of the 2014/15 season.

A fantastic second half to the 2017/18 season culminated in ten-man Rovers defeating Boreham Wood in the National League play-off final, before a second successive promotion was secured just a year later with a 1-0 win over Newport County. The club were relegated back to League Two at the end of the truncated 2019/20 season.

Team news

Long term absentees Will Smith, Dior Angus and Max Wright remain on the sidelines but otherwise Simon Weaver will likely have a full complement to select from.