County will be looking to put a disappointing start to the League 2 season behind them on Tuesday night, as our attention turns to the Carabao Cup and a first-round tie away to Harrogate Town.
Some of County’s greatest ever nights have come in the League Cup, famously reaching the semi-final in 1996/97, but Tuesday’s game will be our first in the competition since a first-round defeat to Preston North-End in 2010. We haven’t reached the second round of the competition since 2007, where we lost 4-3 away at Charlton Athletic.
On the flip side, this will only be Harrogate Town’s third ever game in the competition, and their first ever at the EnviroVent Stadium. They were forced to forfeit a first-round tie against Rochdale last year due to Covid-19 but reached the second round in their first season in the EFL, winning away at Tranmere on penalties before losing 3-0 at West Brom.
They too will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing result at the weekend, having lost 3-0 away at Crewe Alexandra, with Tuesday’s game being billed as a huge occasion for the Yorkshire side.
If the scoreline is level after 90 minutes, the tie will be decided by a penalty shootout.
Our Opponents:
Harrogate Town are now in their third season as an EFL Club, having won promotion to the Football League for the first time in their history in 2020 – beating Notts County 2-1 in the National League Play-Off Final.
Their manager Simon Weaver, son of Club Chairman Irving, is currently the longest serving manager in the Football League, having been in charge of the Club since 2009 – during which time he has taken the Club from the bottom half of the National League North to the promise land of League 2.
Weaver steered his side to a 17th place finish in their first season in the EFL, and looked set to improve on that again last year with the team sat in the top-half of the table at the mid-way point. A run of just three wins in their final 15 games of the season however saw them plummet down the table, eventually finishing 19th – albeit still 15 points clear of the relegation zone.
The Club have brought in ten new signings over the Summer, with one of them, Huddersfield loanee Matty Daly, on the scoresheet in their opening game of the season, as they began with an impressive 3-0 win against Swindon Town.
That win against last season’s play-off semi-finalists was one of the most eye-catching results of the opening weekend, Alex Pattison and Jack Muldoon getting the other goals for them that day, but they were brought back to earth with that chastening result at Crewe on Saturday. Weaver was particularly frustrated with their first-half display in that game, twice conceding from a set-piece, and he will be hoping for better on Tuesday, on what is a historic night for the Club.
One to watch:
Harrogate have been dealt a blow over the Summer with the loss of winger Jack Diamond, who has now returned to his parent Club Sunderland after a sensational loan spell at the EnviroVent last season in which he scored 13 goals and assisted a further six.
Supporters will be hoping that other players will step up in his absence, and will likely look to fan-favourite Jack Muldoon. The 33-year-old is now in his fifth season at the Club, hitting double-figures in all four of his previous campaigns and scoring 12 in League 2 last time out. He was on the scoresheet once again on opening day, in that win against Swindon.
He will be a familiar face to manager Dave Challinor too, having spent a season playing for the gaffer at AFC Fylde in 2018/19.
Match Stats:
- County’s last win in the Carabao Cup came all the way back in 2007/08, a 1-0 win over League One Tranmere Rovers thanks to a goal from Matty McNeil.
- This will be our first meeting with Harrogate since a 2-1 defeat in 2019, and our fourteenth game against them in all competitions. There hasn’t been much to separate the two sides down the years, with five wins for County, six for Harrogate and two draws.
- County haven’t lost the first three games of a season since 1974, losing to Doncaster, Blackburn and Shrewsbury Town under Jimmy Meadows.
Streaming:
Please note that Clubs are not permitted to live stream Carabao Cup fixtures, either internationally or domestically, due to broadcast regulations. Live Audio Commentary with Sam Byrne and Liam Richardson is available for the game on Stockport County Live, and access to this is covered by your monthly and seasonal subscription packages.
