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17
Feb
Harrogate Town vs Barrow: Sulphurites must strike while the iron is hot
Improving Harrogate Town have the opportunity to strike while the iron is hot in a League Two six-pointer this evening (February 17).
The Sulphurites travel to Barrow in what could be a crucial match.
Simon Weaver’s side ended their long wait for a league win two weeks ago when they beat second-placed Cambridge United at home, courtesy of strikes from Bryn Morris and Emmerson Sutton.
It was their first League Two victory since September.
They followed it up with another strong result against play-off contenders Chesterfield, when January loanee Tobias Brenan’s late strike rescued a point for Town.
Tobias Brenan celebrates after equalising against Chesterfield.
Sulphurites must take advantage
In a recent interview with the club, midfielder Jack Evans claimed it was only a matter of time before Harrogate got the results they wanted:
I think there’s been a few performances now – the Swindon game, the Fleetwood game – where we should have been coming away with more. We just kept believing in the way that we’ve been playing and going about the right things and hoping that result would come, and it did against a good team in Cambridge.
But to avoid relegation, Town need to keep picking up points.
Barrow, who have two league wins in their last 19, offer a good chance to do that.
A win would move Town within two points of The Bluebirds, who are also in the relegation battle.
Twenty-third-placed Harrogate sit only four points behind Crawley Town, too, who are a place above them in the safe zone.
With Crawley playing strong opponents in MK Dons tonight, the North Yorkshire side could reduce the gap to safety to one point.
Simon Weaver celebrates after a long awaited victory against Cambridge United.
Barrow fatigued?
Barrow have a new man in charge.
New manager Dino Maamria led the Cumbrian side to their first win in seven against Colchester on Saturday (February 14).
But in a pre-match interview today, he admitted the players were fatigued after an intense week:
[They have] sore bodies. They played Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday and have another one [tonight]. We hardly did anything today [in training]. We have to be smart how we work, although I do need some work on the grass with them. When you have a small squad like we have, I have to utilise them wisely. We’ve tried to recover as much as possible.
One thing Harrogate Town certainly don’t have is a small squad. And they can use this to their advantage tonight.
Harrogate Town currently have 32 players on their books, meaning squad rotation isn’t a problem. They’ve also had more days' rest than Barrow in the last week.
Henry Gray has been a stalwart in between the sticks for Harrogate since his arrival in January.
The Sulphurites signed nine players in the January transfer window, many of whom have come straight into the starting line-up.
Players like Emmerson Sutton and Cathal Heffernan have brought an energy and youthful tenacity that Town desperately needed, while loanee goalkeeper Henry Gray has been a more than capable replacement for the departing James Belshaw.
And these young players could be the difference tonight.
With a depleted, fatigued Barrow side to face tonight, Town have an opportunity to build on their recent upturn and maintain hope of staying in League Two.
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