Hartlepool United are back at Victoria Park tonight to face Harrogate Town in the Enterprise National League. (7:45pm KO).
The Opposition:
Harrogate Town, relegated from League Two last season after six years in the Football League, currently occupy a play-off place in fourth position.
The Sulphurites have collected 19 points from their opening 10 fixtures, with six wins, one draw and three defeats, scoring 24 goals and conceding 17.
In their most recent outing, the North Yorkshire side recovered from consecutive defeats to Boreham Wood and AFC Fylde with a 4-1 home victory over Eastleigh.
Bailey Hobson, Josh Hmami and Brad Dolaghan, who netted twice in last weekend’s win, share the club’s top-scorer position with three goals each.
Simon Weaver has been in charge at Harrogate for more than 17 years, having been appointed player-manager in 2009. Following his father Irving’s appointment as chairman in 2011, Weaver guided the club to the fifth tier for the first time in its history in 2018, before securing another landmark achievement with promotion to the Football League in 2020.
Club Information:
Nickname: The Sulphurites
Founded: 1914 (112 years ago)
Ground: The Marcy Fitness Stadium (Capacity – 5,000)
Chairman: Irving Weaver
Last season: EFL League Two (23rd of 24)
Pools:
Pools will hope to bounce back from a 4-1 loss away to Scunthorpe United at the weekend.
Despite the defeat, forward Luke Charman marked his return to competitive action following a lengthy spell on the sidelines, making his first league appearance since February.
At Victoria Park, Pools have won two of their four league matches this season, most recently a 1-0 victory over Woking earlier this month.
Team News:
Liam Gibson will be sidelined again due to an ongoing hamstring injury.
Corey McKeown, Max Merrick, Max Kouogun and Owen Hampson remain out as they continue to recover from their respective injuries.
Last Five Meetings:
January 2023: Hartlepool United 3-3 Harrogate Town
November 2022: Hartlepool United 3-1 Harrogate Town
October 2022: Harrogate Town 2-1 Hartlepool United
August 2022: Hartlepool United 2-0 Harrogate Town
March 2022: Harrogate Town 1-2 Hartlepool United
Key Information
Turnstiles will open from 6.15pm, and supporters are reminded that we operate a restricted bag policy to help keep everyone at the stadium safe. Please only bring essential items and, where possible, attend without a bag.
Bags will be checked at an outer cordon as you approach the entrances. All permitted bags will be carefully searched before admission.
Please have your bag ready and open when you reach the search point. Staff may ask you to remove items so they can complete the check.
