Harrogate Town targeting another win at Mansfield Town as FA Cup journey begins
Harrogate Town's 2025/26 FA Cup journey begins this weekend at a venue where they have enjoyed plenty of success - and one night of misery.
The League Two Sulphurites tackle League One Mansfield at Field Mill on Saturday afternoon in the competition's first round.
Simon Weaver's men have already won at the One Call Stadium this season, edging to a 1-0 victory in an EFL Trophy group stage fixture in early September courtesy of Mason Bennett's early penalty.
That success came against a heavily-rotated Stags outfit, though it was Harrogate's fourth in five trips to Mansfield, with those three previous triumphs all coming in League Two.
Town won 1-0 in November 2020 thanks to a Calvin Miller goal, then 3-1 the following September when Luke Armstrong, Jack Muldoon and George Thomson all found the back of the net.
Their most recent triumph came in April 2023 as an Alfie Kilgour own goal and Matty Daly's neat finish secured a 2-1 victory.
But Harrogate's last League Two visit to the Stags ended in complete disaster as they conceded five before half-time on their way to a 9-2 thrashing in February of last year.
That result came completely out of the blue, with the Sulphurites occupying a play-off spot at the time, following a fine run of form that had seen them lose just one of their previous 11 matches.
In total, Harrogate have come out on top in seven of their 10 past encounters with Mansfield, drawing one and losing just the two.
They also boast an excellent recent record in FA Cup first-round ties, having progressed to round two in each of the last five seasons.
Last term, Town upset League One Wrexham at the same stage of the competition, winning that match 1-0 thanks to Muldoon's first-half header.
They then went on to beat non-league Gainsborough Trinity by the same score-line before bowing out in the third round despite a gallant showing against Championship heavyweights Leeds United at Elland Road.
Among their other standout first-round results are a 1-0 victory at local rivals Bradford City in 2022/23, and an upset of then-League Two Torquay United in 2012/13, when the Sulphurites were still a National League North side.
Saturday’s fixture at Mansfield kicks-off at 3pm.