Harrogate Town v Newport County: Sulphurites must 'stick to the task'
Even at this early stage of the season, Harrogate Town’s showdown with Newport County this Saturday has the feel of a game of significance for both clubs.
A bright start to 2025/26 and back-to-back League Two victories earlier this month suggested that the Sulphurites might be capable of enjoying a better campaign after last year’s survival scrap.
And, while it would be premature to write off their chances of doing so already. those early signs of promise have faded and Simon Weaver‘s team head into this weekend’s encounter desperate to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat.
Three games ago, the play-offs did not look out of reach, but following that trio of losses to Colchester, Fleetwood and Crewe, Harrogate have slipped to 19th position and will now be looking over their shoulders with the gap to the relegation zone suddenly just five points.
Newport, meanwhile, travel to North Yorkshire rock bottom of the Football League having managed just two successes in 13 attempts, while suffering nine defeats.
With the pressure mounting on the Exiles and manager David Hughes, both sides will view this match as being a must-win affair.
For Weaver, it is painfully obvious where his team’s problems lie, with a series of defensive lapses having proved so costly of late.
And the task facing him ahead of the visit of County is to ensure that those frailties do not start to undermine other aspects of Town’s game.
“We have got to make sure that the bite doesn't go as well as the confidence,” he said.
"We've got to get people upbeat, get them believing. And we’ve got to keep passing the ball and delivering into good areas.
"We've got to keep the likes of Reece Smith, Jack Evans, Stephen Duke-McKenna and Jack Muldoon sticking to the task, which isn't easy when you're conceding goals because there is a problem at the back, and they know it, but you've got to stay professional.
"We've got to stay united, stick to the task of being professional footballers to the best of our ability because we are capable.
“What we have to do is work our socks off. It's not the first time that we have lost three on the bounce and we will just keep working hard to be better.”