League Two’s Harrogate Town will host recently promoted Wrexham at the EnviroVent Stadium on Tuesday night in an attempt to snap their miserable home run of form.
On Saturday afternoon, Crawley Town defeated the Sulphurites, who were not their usual vicious self, while the Red Dragons easily defeated managerless Morecambe at The Racecourse Ground.
Prior to taking on Crawley this weekend at Broadfield Stadium, Harrogate had been winning four straight away in League Two, defeating Walsall, Colchester United, Newport County, and MK Dons. However, Town couldn’t continue the strong run in West Sussex.
With a little assist from visiting goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell, Sulphurites attacker Jack Muldoon scored his third goal of the year in the closing minutes of the first half to cancel out Klaidi Lolos’s opening goal for the hosts. Ben Gladwin, a center-back, scored the game-winning goal for the Red Devils in the second half.
After finishing in 19th place in League Two for the past two seasons, Harrogate is now trying to make waves closer to the top of the division, even though Simon Weaver’s team is currently only six points behind Accrington Stanley in seventh place.
With five straight losses in competitive games played in front of home crowds, including a 1-1 draw against Swindon Town on November 18, Town will undoubtedly need to turn things around at the EnviroVent Stadium if they hope to contend for a postseason spot this year.
The Sulphurites are the lowest scorers in the division and mainly rely on players like George Thompson for offensive firepower. However, the 31-year-old is going through a dry spell in front of the net, having failed to score in his last six league appearances. The Sulphurites have only made the net ripple on 18 occasions this season.
Following the end of their incredible 11-game unbeaten streak at Accrington last Saturday, promotion-chasing Wrexham were in a ruthless mood at The Racecourse Ground this past weekend. Their latest victims were a Morecambe team that is temporarily led by John McMahon.
Joel Senior’s own goal and Paul Mullin’s goal gave the Red Dragons a two-goal lead after just seven minutes. The 29-year-old then finished with a hat-trick in the second half, while substitutes James Jones and Jacob Mendy also scored for the home team.
In addition to being extremely beneficial in terms of goal differential, hitting the Shrimps for six and getting back on track last time out has allowed Wrexham to cut the lead over first-place Stockport County to just five points following Dave Challinor’s team’s shocking loss to Newport.
Much of the media attention during Wrexham’s 2022–23 title-winning season was focused on the Golden Boot competition between Mullin and Macaulay Langstaff of Notts County. However, this season has seen another Red Dragon claim the title of top scorer, as midfielder Elliot Lee has scored 10 goals in 19 league games.
A number of Championship and League One clubs are reportedly interested in hiring the 28-year-old due to his goal-scoring contributions from the engine room. However, the Hollywood glamour of The Racecourse Ground has helped the club draw in some experienced second-tier players over the summer, including former Wigan Athletic winger James McClean.
Samuel Folarin, a striker for Harrogate, was forced off the pitch in the first half of the team’s defeat at Crawley due to a hamstring strain. The 23-year-old is expected to be out for some time.
After recovering from his own hamstring injury, Josh March took the young player’s place at the centre of the Sulphurites’ attack in West Sussex. The forward is expected to play right away on Tuesday.
Prior to Wrexham’s visit, Weaver has few options in the midfield, as neither Levi Sutton nor Matty Daly are expected to be available for selection.
Wrexham also had a key player exit the field in the early stages due to an injury on the weekend, with right-back Anthony Forde being replaced by Gambia international Mendy in the 27th minute.
The Red Dragons are set to be without the services of centre-back Jordan Tunnicliffe for a period of time due to a hamstring injury, meaning natural midfielder Thomas O’Connor will continue in the backline alongside Aaron Hayden and Ben Tozer.
Ryan Barnett, Eoghan O’Connell and striker Steven Fletcher are progressing with their recoveries from their respective knocks, however none of the trio will feature at Harrogate in midweek.
