Bromley FC v Harrogate Town: Sulphurites have to 'find a way' against 'brilliant' Ravens

The Sulphurites tasted victory for the first time in six games when they beat Swindon at the weekend, with that 1-0 success at Wetherby Road sufficient to keep them seven points clear of the relegation zone.

But with three of the four of the sides currently beneath them in the table having played at least one game less, back-to-back wins would be massive for Simon Weaver and his men.

Getting the better of the Ravens this Saturday afternoon (3pm) will however be no easy task, with Andy Woodman’s team currently 11th in the table and unbeaten in three matches.

“It’s about trying to find a way in each and every game we play between now and the end of the season,” Weaver said.

“We know that we are still very much in this fight at the bottom end of the table. We’ve not cracked it by any stretch of the imagination so we need a continuation of that battling spirit that we have shown 10 games on the bounce and we will have to do that on Saturday because Bromley are a really good team.

“I think they are still a very strong outfit. We knew that first game of the season. It was a difficult first fixture and they’re still doing well now. The last couple of games they’ve come away with good victories.

"They’ve changed the system slightly since the start of the season. The last couple of games they’ve been playing a 4-2-3-1 and done it very well indeed. They have got different attacking options but are just as strong as they were over the start of the season. It has been a brilliant first year for them in the Football League.

“So, we need to show the same camaraderie and the same collective spirit as we showed last Saturday and find a way, even if we have to change midway through the game if it’s not quite going our way.”

Promoted from the National League at the end of 2023/24 as play-off final winners, Bromley have come out on top in 10 of their 31 League Two fixtures to date, drawing 12 of those matches and losing just nine.

They have been in fine form of late, with consecutive 1-0 victories over Fleetwood and MK Dons and a 3-3 draw away at Salford City meaning that they have taken seven points from the last nine on offer.

But, the South East London outfit have been far more effective on the road than they have at Hayes Lane this term and that triumph against Fleetwood at the weekend was just their fourth on home soil.

Only relegation-threatened Accrington, Morecambe and Carlisle have worse home records than the Ravens, with their tally of 18 points in 15 matches the fourth worst in the fourth tier.

That said, 20th-placed Harrogate have hardly been superb on their travels this season, winning just three out out of 16 away games.

The most recent of those successes came at Barrow at the start of January, though they have subsequently lost out at Bradford City, MK Dons and Doncaster Rovers since that 2-0 victory up in Cumbria.

The most recent meeting between Town and Bromley saw the Ravens win 2-0 at Wetherby Road on the opening weekend of 2024/25, Michael Cheek and Karlan Grant scoring in the second half.

The Sulphurites do boast a better record in the four previous encounters, all of which came in the National League. They have won one and drawn three of those matches, including a 3-3 draw at Hayes Lane in November 2019, and a 1-1 draw there in 2018/19.