Mansfield Town v Harrogate Town: Sulphurites determined to 'finish on a high'

Harrogate Town suffered their first defeat in seven matches when they lost at Northampton Town on Saturday, but they bounced straight back in midweek, beating Newport County to secure their Football League status. Picture: Matt Kirkham

The Sulphurites beat Newport County 3-2 in midweek to mathematically guarantee that they cannot be relegated from League Two, a result which moved them up to 20th place in the table and nine points clear of the drop zone.

Tuesday’s success also means that they have now lost just one of their last eight matches and Simon Weaver has urged his players to continue their recent good form into the final two fixtures of the campaign - starting at promotion-chasing Mansfield this Saturday.

"We want to go out with three wins on the bounce, that's the ambition,” the Harrogate chief said.

Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver celebrates after his side beat Newport County to secure their Football League status. Picture: Graham Hunt/ProSportsImages

"We want to finish with as many points as possible, excite the fans, keep building the momentum gained from the last 15 games and end on a positive note.

"I was saying at half-time [at Newport], 'come on, be ambitious, let's all be ambitious, let's try and win games and score goals for the fans, so we end on a high’.

"I want to keep building what is a team that is emerging, in my opinion, in the last 15 games from being gritty and rediscovering ourselves.

"So, let's finish on a high."

While Town may be determined to end the campaign with a flourish, Saturday’s opponents have even more motivation to try and take all three points.

Mansfield currently sit eighth in the table and outside the play-off places on goal-difference alone.

They were beaten 2-1 at home by champions Leyton Orient in midweek, a defeat which prevented them from breaking into the top-seven and overtaking both Salford and Bradford.

But that loss was their first in 10 matches following a run of four wins and five draws which stretched back to mid-March.

History is on the side of Harrogate, who are unbeaten in all of their five League Two meetings with the Stags. Among their four victories is a comprehensive 3-0 success at Wetherby Road earlier this season, while they also won an EFL Trophy clash with Nigel Clough’s men last term.

And both of Town’s previous visits to Field Mill have ended in triumph. They won 3-1 in 2021/22 and 1-0 the season before that.