Bradford City v Harrogate Town: Sulphurites must be patient at Valley Parade, says Simon Weaver

Harrogate Town beat Yorkshire rivals Bradford City 3-1 on their previous visit to Valley Parade. Pictures: Matt Kirkham

The Sulphurites make the short trip to Valley Parade for a 12.30pm kick-off aiming to secure what would be their third derby victory over the Bantams in their own back yard in as many visits.

Mark Hughes’ City side beat Town 2-1 at Wetherby Road when the sides met in League Two earlier this season, but prior to that game, Simon Weaver’s men had won all of the four previous competitive encounters between the teams.

Last term, Harrogate triumphed 3-1 in West Yorkshire courtesy of goals from Warren Burrell, Lewis Page and Jack Diamond, while the 2020/21 season saw them come away with a 1-0 success thanks to Lloyd Kerry’s second-half strike.

Matty Daly's second-half equaliser at AFC Wimbledon arrived after Harrogate Town kept possession of the ball from more than a minute.

They don’t head into their second derby showdown of the campaign in the best of form, having suffered back-to-back defeats at Walsall and AFC Wimbledon, winning just one of their last 12 in League Two.

But, boss Weaver has revealed that he saw plenty during that 3-2 loss to the Dons to encourage him heading into this weekend’s encounter.

“Play in the same manner as we did at Wimbledon and we will frustrate the crowd at Bradford because they want possession of the football,” he said.

"On Saturday, we had it for vast amounts of time and we have to take that as a positive. It’s a big open pitch at Valley Parade, wider than ours, and we can use that to our advantage as long as we pass the ball properly.

Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver was encouraged by how his team played when they had possession of the ball at AFC Wimbledon.

"I’ve said to the players, don’t get bored of playing those 10 and 15-yard passes, because if we stay patient like we did at Wimbledon, that’s how you open teams up and create chances.

"We kept the ball for one minute and five seconds in the build up to scoring our first goal last Saturday. Even after going 3-2 down in the 89th minute, we created two good opportunities to equalise and hit the bar through keeping possession.

"We know that the game-plan does work if we stay patient for long enough.”

Tickets for Saturday’s FA Cup first-round tie are now on sale online and in Town’s club shop on Commerical Street, but must be collected from the club store.

Tickets are also available to purchase at Valley Parade on the day at an increased rate of £5 per person.

Due to rail strike action, the club are advising that supporters avoid travelling to Bradford via train.

Harrogate Town Independent Supporters’ Club are organising coach travel for those wishing to attend. For more information or to book a seat, contact Jordan Ford on 07989 969575.