Harrogate Town v Altrincham FC: 'Maturity' and game management key for Sulphurites

The Sulphurites host Altricham on Saturday afternoon (3pm), having been dumped out of the FA Cup by AFC Fylde last time out, losing that first-round tie 4-1 on home soil despite producing a decent performance for an hour of the game.

That defeat followed on from a 2-2 draw at Forest Green Rovers and the “embarrassing” 3-0 reverse against nine-man Carlisle United, meaning that Weaver’s men are now three games without a victory in all competitions.

Despite taking just the one point from the last six on offer they remain second in the National League standings, three points ahead of Southend United and Fylde.

Nevertheless, they will undoubtedly be looking for both a positive reaction and a return to winning ways this weekend given those recent disappointments.

Town have been leaking goals of late, conceding nine in their last three outings, and their manager has already identified that his team needs to tighten up and the back.

In order that they do that, Weaver wants his players to be better organised and be wiser in terms of their game management.

“It’s less about a reaction, and more maturing as a group, learning about each other and not letting games run away from us,” he said.

“Against Fylde, we were right on top at 1-1 after half-time. We were in the driving seat, so much so that we probably took our eye off the ball in terms of our defensive set-up.

“When the ball was in the attacking third, we just weren’t quite set up right or as solid as we might have been.

“The structure that we want to play with has brought us a lot of goals, and it has been exhilarating at times. The flip side of that is that you can leave yourself a little bit open if you don’t manage situations.

"We've got a bloody nose from that. We know the ramifications of being too stretched, or burning too much energy. Sometimes, it is okay to take a breather on the ball. We want to press aggressively, but sometimes we need to get back into the middle of the pitch and be solid, which is also fine.”

Harrogate know that they will have to up their game if they are to get the better of an Altrincham outfit who currently sit seventh in the National League and travel to North Yorkshire in rather decent form.

Neil Gibson’s troops looked to be on their way to an FA Cup upset at the weekend, leading 2-1 as they did at home to League One Notts County with 83 minutes on the clock.

But the Magpies grabbed a late leveller and then went on to win the resulting penalty shoot-out 3-2.

Prior to that, Altrincham had thrown away an early advantage as they went down 4-2 at home to in-form Carlisle, but other than that defeat and losing to runaway league leaders Boreham Wood, the Robins have been excelling.

After losing each of their first three games of 2026/27, they went on to win seven of the next eight. More recently, they have recorded impressive wins over Aldershot, and away at Yeovil, taking their points tally to 28 from 16 matches.

That 2-1 success at Yeovil was Alty’s third on their travels in their previous four away outings. Earlier in the season, they also managed to take all three points at Forest Green.

Harrogate’s home form has been even more impressive, with their only two losses in the 10 contests they have hosted at the Marcy Fitness Stadium coming at the hands of Fylde.

They have triumphed in seven of the other eight, while also drawing 2-2 with Barrow.