Mansfield Town v Harrogate Town: Shawn McCoulsky could return for FA Cup clash

The 28-year-old centre-forward made a bright start to his Sulphurites career having joined the club from National League Maidenhead United during the summer.

But he pulled a thigh muscle during the warm-up for the League Two defeat to Crewe Alexandra in early October and has not featured since.

McCoulsky is however closing in on a return to action, with Town boss Simon Weaver hopeful that he will be able to include him in his squad at Field Mill this weekend.

It remains to be seen whether club captain Warren Burrell (achilles) will be ready to start after he remained an unused substitute during last weekend’s 3-0 home loss to Newport County.

Fellow defender Liam Gibson (hamstring) is available for selection, though long-term casualties George Thomson (achilles), Lewis Cass (ankle), Tom Hill (hamstring) and Mason Bennett (groin) remain sidelined.

Harrogate head into Saturday’s game 19th in League Two and just two points above the relegation zone following a dismal recent run of four consecutive defeats.

Mansfield, by contrast, are pushing for the play-offs in the division above and are unbeaten in their last five League One outings.

They have won three of those games, and are fresh off the back of a 2-0 home success over Plymouth Argyle in midweek.

Harrogate have, however, 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 Weaver’s team’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 game kicks-off at 3pm.