Issue 19 - Harrogate Town vs Colchester United by pixelbuilders

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HARROGATE TOWN AFC OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

COLCHESTER UNITED TUESDAY MARCH 9, 2021 THE ENVIROVENT STADIUM 7PM KICK OFF

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Harrogate Town Football Club The Envirovent Stadium, Wetherby Road, Harrogate, HG2 7SA Tel: 01423 210600 Email: enquiries@harrogatetownafc.com BOARD Chairman Vice Chairman Managing Director Directors Associate Director Strategy Director Finance Director Life President Vice Presidents

Irving Weaver Howard Matthews Garry Plant Angus Taylor Dave Riley Mike Partridge Paul Stone Julian Davis George Dunnington Clive Dunnington David Batty

FOOTBALL First Team Manager: Simon Weaver Assistant Manager: Paul Thirlwell Goalkeeper Coach: Phil Priestley Chief Scout: Lee Barraclough Head Physiotherapist: Rachel Davis Assistant Physiotherapist: Cyra Smith Sports Psychologist: Phil Lee Fitness Coach: Darren Simpson OPERATIONS General Manager: Ben Sadler Community Development: Iain Service Tom Blackburn Youth Development: Josh Falkingham Josh Walsh Child Welfare & Safeguarding: Dave Riley Supporters’ Liaison Officer: Phill Holdsworth Facilities Manager: Ady Fletcher Head Groundsman: Iain Bullock 1919 Venue Managers: Tricia Lightfoot Hamilton Mattock Retail Manager Claire Kontominas Club Chaplain: Rob Brett

5 CONTENTS 5 Boss’s Notes

MEDIA Media Manager: Hal Boxhall-Dockree Photographer: Matt Kirkham Matchday Programme: Rich Saltmarsh Media Assistants: Brody Pattison Danny Pugsley Henry Whitaker PA Announcer Alan Tootill

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7 From the Skipper 8 Action Replay: Grimsby Town / Barrow AFC / Stevenage 14 Player in Focus: Dan Jones 22 This Week in Town’s History 25 Today’s Opposition: Colchester United 30 The Ex-Files 32 Stats Zone 34 League Two Round-up 36 Results and Fixtures 38 Squad & Management Team 42 Up Next for Town 44 Today’s Teams TOWN MATCHDAY PROGRAMME Editor & Designer: Rich Saltmarsh Contributors: Henry Whitaker, Phil Harrison, Rich Saltmarsh, Hal Boxhall-Dockree, Iain Service, Mark Walker, Simon Weaver, Josh Falkingham Photography: Matt Kirkham Printed by: JJ Sports Promotions

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THE BOSS’S NOTES

T HE M A N AG ER

SIMON WEAVER GOOD EVENING and I hope everyone at home is safe and well. I would like to extend my welcome to Wayne Brown, his staff and players who have made the trip up from Colchester today.

With so many matches, time on the training

At Stevenage on Saturday, we were really unfortunate not to take anything from the game after what was a really good performance. We dominated the game from start to finish and played some of the best football that we have done all season and created a lot of problems for them. But that’s football and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way and you’re left scratching your head as to how you got nothing from the game after such a dominant performance. It was a shame to concede through one long ball over the top after we’d restricted a dangerous, in form side to very few opportunities. Overall, I couldn’t really fault the performance and effort, so we’re not too downbeat about it. Yes, we hate losing but it is sometimes easy to over evaluate things and be over critical. Saturday, however, was just one of those days and we can take a lot of positives away from the performance. We’ve dusted ourselves down and are looking forward to the match tonight which will be another tough encounter.

understanding of playing at this level. We have

ground is naturally limited but the squad have quickly bought in to what we have asked of them and they are developing and improving their a good, honest, intelligent squad of players who are not afraid of challenges and I feel we have improved with each game and while there are still areas where we can improve and we can learn, the progress we have made this season has been absolutely superb. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your continued support. We still do need your support and the positive vibes that you are sending us. It does make a difference. We continue to miss you at the matches at the moment and we are sad that you can’t be with us in our debut EFL season, but hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel now and things will start to get back to some sort of normality soon and we’ll see you back at The EnviroVent Stadium. Enjoy the game!

Simon 5

FROM THE SKIPPER

T HE C A P TA I N

JOSH FALKINGHAM OUR RECENT RUN OF GAMES has overall turned out to be a very good period for us. The main aim has been to get consistency in the performances and to cut out mistakes. We’ve done really well and been able to do that in recent weeks, but the defeats to Scunthorpe and then to Stevenage on Saturday are examples of how we’ll get punished if we do make errors. Lately we’ve had some really tight games and that’s something we can expect from now until the end of season. I think we can all agree that when teams have made mistakes against us in recent weeks, we’ve been much better at punishing them and then managing the games. That’s really pleasing as it’s allowed us to put a good run together. We know how it feels to lose games 1-0 and it’s not a nice, especially when there’s nothing between the two sides, like how it was against Stevenage at the weekend. When we play, we always want to experience the winning feeling and we’re learning how to dig in and realise the goal might not necessarily come early doors. We have to stay focussed and on our game for the entirety of the match and when the chance does come, like it did late on against Barrow, you have to be clinical, like Mullers was.

The Gaffer has rotated the side in the last few matches and as a player you never want to be out of the side, but it’s what some of the best teams do. There was a stat I read not too long ago that said Pep Guardiola has made more changes than any other manager in the Premier League this season and they’re running away with the league. You’ve got to accept the rotation and with the tight knit group that we have, everybody wants the same thing and that’s to win games. It’s not too often that happens. I’ve been at clubs where it can go the other way. What we’ve got here is brilliant and we know once you do get back in the side, you’re back firing and feeling fresh. Now though, all our focus is on Colchester. When we last played them, in terms of the performance levels, we were brilliant but then they scored two goals out of nowhere and we found ourselves 2-0 down. That was the start of our ‘welcome to League Two run’ in terms of finding out what it takes to win games consistently at this level. We had to go through that rough patch but to be fair we are on the other side of that now and we’re looking good. The spirit and momentum is there and we’re looking to have a strong finish.

Falks

ACTION REPLAY

VS.

GRIMSBY TOWN SATURDAY 27 MARCH 2021 THE ENVIROVENT STADIUM KICK OFF 3PM

1 Beck 77

0 Town Belshaw, Fallowfield, Jones (Burrell 68), Smith, Hall, Kerry (Falkingham 81), Thomson, Power, Martin (Beck 68), March (Muldoon 68) McPake Unused subs: Francis, Minter Grimsby Town Eastwood, Hendrie, Waterfall, Coke, Hanson, Matete (Morias 80), Hewitt ■, Pollock (Adams 80), Menayese, El Mizouni, Payne (John-Lewis 68) Unused subs: Rose, Green, Habergham, Adams, McKeown

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS & REACTION

ACTION REPLAY MATCH STATS ■ TOWN ■ GRIMSBY POSSESSION %

44 TOTAL SHOTS

7 SHOTS ON TARGET

2 PASSES

447

366 FOULS

16 CORNERS

2 OFFSIDES

1 YELLOW CARDS

1 RED CARDS

ACTION REPLAY

VS.

BARROW AFC TUESDAY 2 MARCH 2021 HOLKER STREET KICK OFF 7PM

0 1 Muldoon 84 Barrow Dixon, Brough ■, Taylor, Quigley, Jones, Nthle (Devitt 60), Barry (Ndjoli 91), Eardley, Thomas, James, Banks (Taylor 59) Unused subs: Lillis, Goodridge, Donohue Town Belshaw, Fallowfield, Jones, Smith ■, Burrell, Thomson, Kerry ■ (Falkingham 63), Beck (Martin 63), March (Muldoon 63), McPake, Power Unused subs: Lawlor, Francis, Minter

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS & REACTION

ACTION REPLAY MATCH STATS ■ BARROW ■ TOWN POSSESSION %

47 TOTAL SHOTS

8 SHOTS ON TARGET

4 PASSES

402

372 FOULS

15 CORNERS

3 OFFSIDES

2 YELLOW CARDS

2 RED CARDS

ACTION REPLAY

VS.

STEVENAGE SATURDAY 6 MARCH 2021 THE LAMEX STADIUM KICK OFF 3PM

1 List 52

0 Stevenage Cumming, James-Wildin, Coker ■, Cuthbert, Prosser, Osborne ■, Newton (Norris 70), Vancooten, List (Aitchison 87), Pett, Lines (Vincelot 73 ■) Unused subs: Johnson, Hutton, Read, Stevens Town Belshaw, Fallowfield, Jones, Smith, Burrell, Thomson, Kerry (Falkingham 63), Beck (March 72), March (Muldoon 63), McPake, Power Unused subs: Martin, Lawlor, Francis, Minter

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS & REACTION

ACTION REPLAY MATCH STATS ■ STEVENAGE ■ TOWN POSSESSION %

59 TOTAL SHOTS

17 SHOTS ON TARGET

3 PASSES

336

486 FOULS

9 CORNERS

7 OFFSIDES

2 YELLOW CARDS

0 RED CARDS

PLAYER IN FOCUS

DAN JONES

“If you think of Game of Thrones, it’s like being north of the wall.” With a big grin on his face, that’s how Town left-back Dan Jones describes where he grew up. The 26-year-old defender is on loan from Salford City for the season and now it’s his turn to tell his story.... By Henry Whitaker Jones didn’t grow up in a Game of Thrones setting but in the small countryside village of Bishop Middleham in County Durham, an area he loved growing up in and has fond memories of. As a kid, he recalls growing up just behind an electricity grid, with big green doors becoming perfect target practise for him and his dad who would spend each evening kicking a football around the estate. Jones grew up not a football fan but a “David Beckham fan”, admitting that he didn’t have a club to support growing up but found inspiration from the England great. Through his school years, Jones was an athletic kid who “loved” any type of sport and thrived on the school sports days, pointing out he would throw anything he could - that’ll explain the long throw… However, he was a shy kid and one who would rather keep to himself...

“I was a quiet, moody and miserable kid, that’s what my mum and dad would say,” Jones says with a chuckle. “I didn’t like to talk to anyone, and I was shy. To be honest I still am now. I don’t like talking to people unless I feel comfortable around them. As a kid, I hated school. Even at nursery age, I wouldn’t let my grandma drop me off. I’d always want to be around my mum and dad or just keep to myself. I wouldn’t be around anyone else.” His shy nature meant he didn’t join his local football team, Ferryhill Town, until the age of 12 and that only happened because his friend dragged him along. Nonetheless, one year with a very successful team saw a young Dan Jones attract interest from Sunderland’s academy and with the push from his dad Paul, he couldn’t turn the opportunity down. Jones spent five years with the Black Cats but struggled to enjoy any of it, citing negative comments from coaches having an impact.

PLAYER IN FOCUS

“People started telling me at 14-years-old that I couldn’t do things and that I wasn’t good at this or I was too small for that,” Jones explains. “The message was ‘you need to sort yourself out’. It was how the footballing environment was back then but thinking about it, I’ve got a younger brother and if they spoke to him how they spoke to me, it wouldn’t be on. Near the end of my time with Sunderland, my dad was having to drag me to training as I didn’t want to go.” The defender’s time came to an end with Sunderland at 15-years-old when he wasn’t offered a scholarship with the club. Although he had no desire to stay, being told he wasn’t good enough was a “disappointing” moment. To his credit though, Jones had now set his sights on becoming

a professional footballer and rejection from Sunderland wasn’t going to stop the Durham man. “It’s all about sacrifice,” he admits. “You can have all the ability in the world but you need the mind-set. All my mates would go out drinking on a Friday, whereas I had a game on Saturday so I sat in the house and I didn’t feel like I missed out. It was a sacrifice I had to make but I knew what I wanted to do from a young age and it was now about making that actually happen.” Jones also admits that someone telling him he can’t do something only drives him on further, and it led him to join Wallsend Boys Club; a legendary club up north where the likes of Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley and Michael Carrick all started out.

DAN JONES

It was the club where Jones rediscovered confidence and love for playing football. For the shy kid from Bishop Middleham, it allowed him to express himself on the pitch and feel like he was just playing with his mates, something he hadn’t done for over five years. One game, in particular, stands out to Jones and it came against his former club. Playing at left-back, he impressed those in the opposite dugout and it led to Sunderland contacting his dad asking if he would go back to the club. Jones’ dad would “tell them where to go” with their offer as he instantly rejected the contract on his son’s behalf. Jones would find out at a later date that Sunderland wanted him back but completely agreed with his dad’s decision. “There wasn’t a chance I’d go back. Why would I want to?” he puts bluntly. “They missed out on me.” Now 16, Jones had left school as was set to do a sports course at Gateshead College, before calls came in from Darlington, Hartlepool and Leeds who all offered him a scholarship. Still to himself and happy at home, Jones rejected the offer from Leeds and had originally opted for Darlington just before they went bust. It meant he ended up at Hartlepool, where he spent five great years. It was the club where he signed his first professional contract, made his Football League debut and made some great friends as well.

likely. Some had given up but it was my second season in men’s football so when I got the chance at 19-years-old playing centre half, I loved it. I wasn’t going to give it up.” Hartlepool miraculously stayed up on the penultimate day of the season and although Jones says celebrating not being relegated isn’t the best thing you can cheer, it was a moment where he proved to himself he was good enough. Jones would stay at Hartlepool for another season before moving onto Grimsby Town in 2016. He admits it was a sad moment leaving the club where he had grown so much. “I enjoyed my youth team days and had a lot of good times. I enjoyed the football environment; even cleaning boots outside in the rain - that was proper football for me. I had six to clean on a Monday morning and if any were wet, I’d know about it. It would be a proper man’s telling off.”

Jones’ best memory with the Pools came in the 2014/15 season when with relegation to Non-League football looking set in stone, Jones and his teammates made the “great escape”. Hartlepool were having a torrid season and found themselves 10 points adrift of safety come the start of January. Jones admits that he and his teammates had all but accepted relegation and decided to go out and play football carefree. “All the other teams were picking up points so we all decided to just enjoy playing each game and have a laugh,” he explains. “We needed to take it seriously still but we all had the same feeling that relegation was very

PLAYER IN FOCUS

DAN JONES

The move to Grimsby didn’t work out and Jones saw himself spend time at both Gateshead and AFC Fylde for the 2016/17 season. The following season Jones moved to former National League side Barrow AFC, under the management of Paul Cox. Things didn’t start swimmingly for Jones as he didn’t get on with the chairman and he had altercations with fans who had some opinions Jones didn’t want to hear. It led to Jones being put on the transfer list without him knowing, and he was then told a deal had been agreed with Dover for his transfer. However, the Durham man didn’t fancy the move and chose to stick it out, despite some unwanted words from the chairman who emailed Jones’ agent saying there’d be no chance he’d ever sign a new deal and instead he could “F-off”. When the 2018/19 season came around though, it was a fresh start for Jones. There was a new chairman, a new manager and a new opportunity. He got the recognition and game time he was after and meant the defender ended up making over 70 appearances for the Bluebirds. However, Jones had aspirations of playing in the Football League and when those offers were planted onto the table, he had decisions to make. Both Shrewsbury and Fleetwood were wanting Jones in their ranks and he so nearly signed for Shrewsbury, before an offer from League Two Salford City came in which at the time, made more sense for the defender. “It was the easy option,” he admits. “Salford offered me a better deal and it suited my lifestyle better at the time, it meant I didn’t have to move. They’re a big brand and I spoke to my dad and Ian Evatt and asked what they thought. Evatt said I’d be in the limelight at Salford if I played. In hindsight, I wish I never signed for them.” It was difficult from the beginning for Jones who found the reality of the club was different from his expectations. Although not enjoying his time, Jones got his head down and worked hard to get himself into the Salford starting XI but he soon picked up an injury and after that, it went downhill, as Jones explains.

“I didn’t like some of the people at the club, and couldn’t stand one in particular who was so controversial and two-faced with me. After I got injured, the club tried to get me out. I had signed in June and they looked to get me out in October by paying me up. I stayed there out of spite. We had 40 players in that first season, they just threw money at it and yeah they’re doing well this year but I think they think they’re better than they are. It’s a nice club but if I had the choice again, I’d reconsider and probably go to Shrewsbury.” Jones signed for Salford in June 2019 but found himself back at Barrow on loan from February onwards. There’s now a smile on his face as it’s more memories of a club he holds in high regard. Jones played a handful of games before the season was curtailed but he was happy to see his teammates get promoted to the Football League. He returned to Salford for pre-season but knew his future lay elsewhere. A loan deal was agreed with Harrogate Town at the start of this season and it was a move that Jones was more than excited about. “As soon as my agent rang me, I said yes straight away,” Jones smiles. “I then spoke to the Gaffer and Thirs (Thirlwell) and met them before signing. Speaking to them, it was infectious. What they wanted to do, how the group was and what they were looking for, it made me want to be a part of it. He continues, “as soon as I got on the bus on the first day on the way down to Southend, everyone was speaking to me and I was having the physio shoving a Covid swab up my nose. It’s a family vibe here. Everyone gets on with everyone but you don’t have to be nice to each other all the time. You can be honest with people, have a laugh and it’s never malicious. Collectively I’ve never been part of that at a club.” It took a few weeks for Jones to get up to speed with his teammates, having not played football since March 2020. He made his Town debut against Bolton Wanderers and then followed that with a goal in his second outing against Leicester’s U21 side in the Papa John’s Trophy.

PLAYER IN FOCUS

The left-back was starting to find some rhythm and cement himself in the team but then, a freak injury happened. While training, Jones went to kick a ball on the volley and then suddenly, his hip “popped”. He had no feeling in his leg and could only see silhouettes of the people around him. Jones would need surgery which was expected to keep him out of the side for at least three months. However, two months after the operation, Jones was back. “It was frustrating because I wanted to be part of it,” Jones says. “I’ve enjoyed watching the lads do well but I want to help. Sometimes you don’t feel part of it when that happens. But it comes back to that family thing where Rach (Rachel Davis) and Cyra (Smith) looked after me really well, I couldn’t thank them enough for all that. Becky (Mark Beck) was injured and so was Will (Smith) so that helped me to get through it.” Jones got 20 minutes against Mansfield last month and then went on to start against Grimsby Town, Barrow and Stevenage.

That first step back on the pitch with his teammates was a feeling of “relief” with everything suddenly “feeling lighter” for the left-back. His focus now is to kick on for the rest of the season and help the team progress as far as possible, hopefully convincing the coaching staff his future belongs with the North Yorkshire club. “I won’t be going back to Salford, they probably don’t know who I am anymore,” Jones smirks. “We’re [Harrogate] not that far off the playoffs. I think it’s achievable with the standard of lads we’ve got and we have got some momentum at the moment. Why not? Why can’t we go up? Expectations are low as we set them. Football comes first but I enjoy it here, I’m happy and I love everyone. I come back to it again, it’s a family and I want to be part of it.”

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THIS WEEK IN TOWN’S HISTORY

KEY MOMENTS FROM THIS WEEK OVER THE YEARS...

In 2019 in Town’s first season in the National League, we came away from Braintree Town with a 4-0 victory thanks to goals from Mark Beck (2), Jack Emmett and George Thomson. MARCH

by Phil Harrison Club Historian

Action from the 0-0 draw at Kettering Town

In 2018 Town hosted FC United of Manchester in the National League North and beat them 6-0 thanks to a George Thomson hattrick and goals from Jack Emmett, Jake Wright and Liam Kitching in front of a crowd of 1,547. MARCH

In 2005 Town travelled to promotion hunting Kettering Town in our first season in the Conference North and came away with a creditable 0-0 draw. The following season, the Poppies were under the media spotlight when they appointed Paul Gascoigne as their manager, however, for a variety of reasons, he was only in the job for 39 days. MARCH

In 1986 Town won 3-1 at home to the world’s oldest club, Sheffield AFC in a Northern Counties East League Division One clash with goals from John Dembickjy and two from Dave Ballantyne. Town finished third that season and were promoted to the Premier Division with Ballantyne top scoring with 20 goals and Dembickjy close behind with 18.

George Thomson celebrates completing his hattrick against FCUM

MARCH

Dave Ballantyne

In 1954 Town visited Ossett Albion in West Yorkshire League Division One and came away with a 2-1 win thanks to a Ken Lawrence penalty and Don Balmforth.

MARCH

In 1964 in Yorkshire League Division One, Town played at home against leaders Mexborough Town in a top of the table clash. Harrogate trailed Mexborough by three points and had played a game more, so it was a must win game. The game ended in a 1-1 draw with Eric Kelshaw on the score sheet for the hosts in front of a crowd of 100. Mexborough finished runners-up to Bridlington Trinity with Eric Kelshaw Town third. MARCH

Don Balmforth

In 1922 the old Harrogate AFC were playing in a strong Midland League that included the likes of Nottingham Forest, Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday reserves but on this occasion were away to Mansfield Town first team. Town lost 3-0 at Field Mill in front of 3,000 spectators. Harrogate’s player/manager that season was Jimmy Dyer who played in this match and he went on to play one game for Manchester Utd and three for West Ham United. MARCH

Jimmy Dyer

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TONIGHT’S OPPOSITION

COLCHESTER UNITED

THE CLUB’S ROOTS stem from Colchester Town who were the main club pre-1937, but some officials didn’t like the idea of becoming professional so Colchester United was formed and they joined the Southern League. United signed most of Town’s players and Colchester Town folded.

were promoted back to the third tier via the play-offs where they stayed before promotion to the Championship in 2005-06 under Phil Parkinson. Parkinson left for Hull City and Geriant Williams took charge of the U’s, guiding them to a highest-ever finish of 10th but relegation followed the next season.

After a notable FA Cup run reaching the Fifth Round in 1947-48 after beating League sides Wrexham, Huddersfield Town and Bradford Park Avenue and being runners-up in the Southern League in 1949-50, The U’s were elected into the Football League for the first time in 1950, playing in the Third Division South, then the Third Division, for 11 years before relegation to the Fourth Division in 1961. The club yo-yoed between the third and fourth tiers for much of the 60s and 70s. During that period and despite being in the bottom tier at the time, Colchester enjoyed another FA Cup run in 1970-71 getting to the Quarter-Finals after famously beating Don Revie’s Leeds United 3-2. The yo-yo like trend continued until a seven year stint in the bottom tier ended with relegation to The Conference in 1989-90 where they spent two seasons before winning the title in 1991-92 and returning to the EFL. In 1997-98 the Us

In 2008-09, the club moved to the new Colchester Community Stadium and then spent the next eight seasons in League One before being relegated back to League Two in 2015-16. Reaching the play-off semi-finals last season was the closest The U’s have come to a return to League One since, but they were edged out by Exeter City, losing 3-2 on aggregate. Steve Ball replaced John McGreal in the summer and the season started well with the U’s in the play-off hunt up until December. But after winning 1-0 at Scunthorpe on December 8, Colchester went on a run of 13 games without a win, which has seen them drop into the bottom half of the table. They parted company with Ball at the end of February with Wayne Brown taking temporary charge and the winless run finally came to an end with victory over Carlisle United last Tuesday.

FOUNDED 1937

NICKNAME The U’s

THE JOBSERVE COMMUNITY STADIUM Capacity 10,105

RECORD SCORER Tony Adcock 149 (1981–87, 1995–98)

RECORD APPEARANCES Micky Cook 700 (1969–84)

RECORD TRANSFER FEE PAID £400k Steven Gillespie To Cheltenham Town July 2008 RECORD TRANSFER FEE RECEIVED £2.5m Greg Halford From Reading January 2007

TONIGHT’S OPPOSITION

THE Us PLAYING SQUAD BETWEEN THE STICKS

old began life in Ipswich Town’s Academy, and spent time on loan at Braintree Town and Lowestoft Town before leaving Portman Road and heading to Huish Park in search of first team football in June 2015. After four years at Yeovil totalling 87 total appearances including captaining the side in 2018-19 he headed back to his hometown club, Colchester United.

1. Dean Gerken

Returning to Colchester in July 2019 for a second spell, the 35-year-old started his career with the U’s, after an earlier stint at Southend United, and won promotion to the Championship in 2005-06. After suffering relegation with the U’s in 2008-09, he returned to the Championship with Bristol City. He spent four seasons with The Robins before moving to Ipswich Town where he made over 100 appearances across the next six campaigns in the Championship before moving back to north Essex.

29. Shamal George

Joining the U’s ahead of the 2020-21 season, the 23-yearold came up through the ranks at Liverpool from a young age, spending thirteen years at Anfield. In that time he had loan spells at Carlisle United, Tranmere Rovers and Marine before being released by the Reds in the summer of 2020 and joining Colchester.

AT THE BACK 2. Miles Welch-Hayes

Signing in February 2020, after leaving Macclesfield Town, the 24-year-old began his career in Oxford United’s Academy and signed his first pro contract with them in 2016, before dropping down to non-league with Bath City and then Oxford City. In June 2018, he moved to Macclesfield and made 58 total appearances for the Silkmen before his move to Colchester.

3. Josh Doherty

Joining the U’s on loan in the January transfer window from Crawley Town, the 24-year26

18. Tom Eastman Dean Gerken

old spent his apprenticeship years and two further years at Watford, before being released in the summer of 2016. He then spent a year at Leyton Orient before returning to his native Northern Ireland to sign for his former club Ards. In September 2017 he joined Crawley in 2017, and is approaching a century of appearances for the Reds in his three and a half seasons there.

5. Tommy Smith

Signing last August, the Kiwi international is a product of the Ipswich Town academy where he spent 11 years and made over 250 appearances before leaving in January 2018 to join MLS side Colorado Rapids. In his time at Ipswich, he also had loan spells at Stevenage, Brentford and Colchester United. After 60 appearances for the Rapids, the 30-year-old moved back to England with Sunderland in February 2020 but without an appearance for the Black Cats was released in the summer. He has 38 caps for New Zealand including at the 2010 World Cup.

6. Omar Sowunmi

Signing for the U’s in July 2019 from Yeovil Town, the 23-year-

Signed for the U’s in May 2011 from Ipswich Town where he had been since the age of eight, progressing through the ranks before making his first-team debut in 2010. After finding his chances with the Tractor Boys limited, he moved to Colchester in the summer of 2011 and spent a month on loan at Crawley Town, where he made six appearances, before returning to the U’s and establishing himself as a regular ever since. Now in his 10th season in, he is a just a handful of games off 400 appearances for Colchester.

21. Ryan Clampin

A product of the U’s academy, the 22-year-old has been with Colchester since he was eight, coming through the club’s Tom Eastman

COLCHESTER UNITED

36. Harvey Sayer

Signing for the U’s in January 2017 after coming through Norwich City’s Academy where he’d been since the age of eight, the 18-year-old spent time on loan at Maldon & Tiptree last season before signing his first pro contract with Colchester in January 2021. He has been included in a number of first team squads this season.

38. Junior Tchamadeu

Signing for Colchester’s Academy in 2020 having previously been at Charlton Athletic, the 17-year-old became the U’s club’s youngest ever starting débutante in December when he played the full ninety minutes against Grimsby Town.

THE ENGINE ROOM 4. Tom Lapslie

A product of the U’s Academy having joined them for his scholarship in 2012, the 25-yearold is now in his seventh season at the Community Stadium having signed pro in 2013 and making his senior debut in January 2015. Since then, he has been a mainstay of the first team squad racking up over 160 total appearances for the club, and has also worn the captain’s armband on several occasions.

7. Courtney Senior

Joining Colchester in June 2016, the 23-year-old is a product of the Brentford Academy where he featured regularly in the Bees Development Squad between 2012-16. After a brief loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers in February 2015 where he returned to Griffin Park and made his debut for

Wayne Brown

IN THE DUGOUT

Academy. He spent a season on loan at Maldon & Tiptree in 2017-18 scoring ten goals in 41 appearances. Last season he made 17 appearances in his first campaign with the seniors.

Appointed: February 2021 Age: 43

Following the departure of Steve Ball in late February, Maldon & Tiptree manager Wayne Brown stepped in as temporary head coach of the U’s after the Jammers season was declared null and void due to the pandemic. Brown, played for the U’s between 2004 and 2007 and most recently coached the U23s squad before his appointment at Maldon & Tiptree. The former centre half played for a number of clubs including Ipswich Town, Watford, Hull City and Leicester City before hanging up his boots in 2011 to focus on coaching. the Bees in the League Cup that August. He left Brentford in June 2016 having made just one first team appearance and joined Colchester United. After an injury hit first campaign, he has become a regular member of the first team since.

8. Harry Pell c

Joining Colchester in 2018, the 29-year-old came through the Charlton Athletic academy, but was released at 18 and signed for Bristol Rovers. A loan spell at Hereford United was made permanent and he spent a couple of years with The Bulls, including a brief spell at Cambridge United, before joining AFC Wimbledon. In 2015 Pell joined Cheltenham Town in the National League and helped the Robins to promotion in his first season, going on to make over 100 appearances at the Jonny Rocks Stadium. Three years later he moved to Colchester and was appointed captain in September 2020.

10. Jevani Brown

Signing for the U’s in July 2019 from Cambridge United, the former Jamaican youth international started at MK Dons and joined Peterborough United at a young age. From there he played for a number of non-league clubs including Kettering Town, Stamford and St. Neots Town before being snapped up by League Two Cambridge United in August Harry Pell

TONIGHT’S OPPOSITION 2017. The 26-year-old made nearly 100 appearances in two years at The Abbey Stadium, scoring 14 goals before moving to Colchester. He was sent out to Forest Green Rovers on loan in January 2020.

14. Noah Chilvers

Joining the U’s Academy at the age of nine from Chelmsford City, the 20-year-old progressed through the ranks and made his first team debut in March 2019 having signed as a scholar in July 2017. After featuring regularly for the U18s and U23s, he spent much of last season at Bath City making 21 appearances in the National League South before returning to Essex. This season he has been a regular starter for the U’s.

22. Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu

Signing for the U’s on January deadline day, the 21-yearold started his pro career at Charlton Athletic in 2018. He was loaned out to Bromley for the latter half of the 2018-19 season before spending the first half of last season at Colchester, playing seven league games before returning to the Valley in January 2020. After finding it hard to break into the Addicks first team regularly, he returned to the U’s on a permanent basis. Noah Chilvers

23. Kwame Poku

Signing for the U’s in May 2019, the 19-year-old started his pro career at Cray Wanderers in 2017 before moving to Isthmian League side Worthing in February 2019. After just three months and 12 appearances for the Rebels, he signed for Colchester and has been an ever-present in the U’s first team ever since, racking up over 70 total appearances in his first two seasons in north Essex.

24. Ben Stevenson

Joining Colchester from Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2019 after a previous loan spell at the club, the 23-year-old is a graduate of the Coventry City Academy where he spent 13 years from the age of eight. After almost 50 total appearances for the Sky Blues, he joined Wolves in January 2018 and was immediately loaned out to Colchester for the remainder of the season, making 13 appearances for the U’s. In August 2018, he was sent on loan to Wolves’ Spanish affiliate club Jumilla until the end of the season making 15 appearances in Spain’s third tier. Now in his third season at Colchester, he has made over 75 appearances for the U’s.

33. Marley Marshall-Miranda

After joining the U’s from Brighton & Hove Albion’s youth setup in 2019 where he played for the Seagulls U18 side during the 2018–19 Premier League season, the 18-year-old was sent out on loan to Isthmian League Premier Division side Worthing in December 2019 before being recalled by the U’s in late January 2020.

UP TOP 9. Aramide Oteh

Signing on loan from Queens Park Rangers in January until 28

Kwame Poku

the end of the campaign having spent the first half of the season on loan at Stevenage, the 22-year-old started his career in the Academy at Tottenham Hotspur. He made the move to QPR in summer 2017, making his debut that December and going on to play 21 times for the Superhoops. Since then, three loan spells at Walsall, Bradford City, and most recently, Stevenage have seen the forward score nine goals in 45 loan appearances in total.

11. Callum Harriott

Re-joining the U’s in September 2019 from Reading, the 26-year old, Guyana international is a product of the Charlton Athletic academy. After making his debut for the Addicks in 2011 he went on to score 11 goals in 86 matches for Charlton mostly in the Championship before joining Reading in August 2016. He spent the first half of the 201516 season on loan at Colchester and scored five goals in 20 League One appearances before returning to the Valley. After injuries restricted him to just 24 Championship appearances at the Madejski Stadium in three years there he re-signed for the U’s on a permanent basis in 2019.

COLCHESTER UNITED 12. Paris Cowan-Hall

Signing for the U’s in July 2019 from Wycombe Wanderers, the 30-year-old began life at Portsmouth during their Premier League years and had a loan spells at Grimsby Town before leaving Pompey for Scunthorpe United in July 2010. After a loan spell at Rushden & Diamonds, he joined Woking in July 2011 before moving to Plymouth Argyle for the 2012-13 campaign. His first stint at Wycombe came in 2013-14 scoring 10 league goals in 45 games before being signed by Championship side Millwall in January 2015. A year later he was back with the Chairboys on loan and again for the first half of the 2016-17 campaign before signing permanently in February

2017. After 100 more league appearances for Wycombe he made the move to Essex.

37. Josh Bohui

Signing in October 2020, the 21-year-old is a product of the Brentford and Manchester United academies progressing through from the U18s to the U23s at Old Trafford. On his release from United, he joined Dutch side NAC Breda in July 2019, before making the switch back to home soil and Colchester United.

39. Michael Folivi

Signing with the U’s in November 2020, the 23-yearold is a product of the Watford youth academy. He made one Premier League appearance for the Hornets in 2017 and had loan spells at Coventry City, Boreham Wood, and AFC Wimbledon (twice) before joining the U’s.

45. Frank Nouble

Signing on loan from Plymouth Argyle in the January transfer window for a second spell at Colchester, the 29-year-old

Callum Harriott

Frank Nouble

started his career in Chelsea’s academy before signing for West Ham United in July 2019. With 334 total career appearances and 54 goals in all four English Leagues at 16 clubs in total including permanent spells at West Ham, Wolves, Ipswich, Coventry, Gillingham, Southend and Newport plus a spell at Tianjin Songjiang in China, he first joined Colchester in June 2108 and played 79 times in the league over two seasons before joining Plymouth Argyle.

RECENT LINE-UP v Newport County (H) L0-2 Saturday, 6 March 2021

Nouble

Folivi

Chilvers

Clampin

Harriott

Smith

Oteh

Sampong-Wiredu

Eastman

Tchamadeu

George SUBSTITUTIONS:

61’ Oteh ‹› Brown; 61’ Folivi ‹› Senior; 79’ Clampin ‹› Sowunmi; 90+2’ Harriott ‹› Sayer Subs not used: Welch-Hayes, Cowan-Hall, Coulter 29

THE EX-FILES

THERE HAVE BEEN THREE PLAYERS WHO HAVE TURNED OUT FOR BOTH TOWN AND COLCHESTER UNITED IN RECENT YEARS Town’s Club Historian, Phil Harrison profiles them

Paul Stoneman

Alan White

Matt Heath

1994-95 Apps: 3 I Goals: 1

1999-2004 Apps: 166 I Goals: 4

2007-13 Apps: 111 I Goals: 5

2005-06 Apps: 36 (0) I Goals: 1

2011-14 Apps: 58 (1) I Goals: 3

2013-15 Apps: 31 (0) I Goals: 2

Defender Paul Stoneman began his senior career with Blackpool in 1991 and spent three seasons at Bloomfield Road making 43 league appearances during his time there and being part of the Division Four Play-Off winning side of 1992. From there he moved to Colchester United prior to the 1994-95 season and made his debut for the U’s that December in a 2-1 win at Fulham and scored his only goal the following week against Hereford United. After one season at Layer Road, he moved to Halifax Town and spent the next 10 years at The Shay turning out 174 times for the Shaymen. He left Halifax in Summer 2005 to join Town and made his debut in the opening game 1-0 victory as captain at home to Hyde United. He went on to play 36 times for Town before moving to Wakefield and then becoming player-assistant manager at Bridlington Town in January 2007.

Centre-back, Alan White started out with Middlesbrough Juniors in 1995, but it was at Luton Town in 1997 where he started his senior career making 90 appearances in three seasons for the Hatters. After a one month loan spell at Colchester United in late 1999, he signed for the U’s permanently in July 2000 and went on to make 166 total appearances, earning him cult status at the Essex club. He joined Leyton Orient in June 2004 for one season playing 31 games before moving on to Boston United. He then played for a string of clubs before signing for Town in December 2011, making his debut in a Boxing Day 4-0 home defeat to Guiseley. Captaining the side for a period, he left after one game of the 2013-14 season having made 59 appearances for the club and joined Darlington 1883 where he became assistant manager and academy coach.

Defender Matt Heath worked his way up through the youth ranks of his hometown club Leicester City before signing pro and going on to make 60 appearances for the Foxes between 2001-05. He joined Coventry City in 2005 and played 34 times for the Sky Blues before moving to Leeds United permanently in January 2007 after an initial loan spell. He made 59 appearances for the Whites in total before moving to Colchester United on loan in March 2008 and then making the move permanent that May. After five seasons and 111 total appearances for the U’s he signed for Northampton Town in August 2013. He left the Cobblers in January 2014, and joined Town in the Conference North making his debut in a 2-2 draw with AFC Telford. In two seasons at Wetherby Road he made 31 appearances before moving on to Harrogate Railway and then Tadcaster Albion.

STATS ZONE STATS ZONE

STATS ZONE

US V. THEM HOW WE COMPARE IN THE LEAGUE

LEAGUE POSITION

GOAL TIMINGS

Minute For Against

16-30 9 9 31-45 10 5

POINTS

45 GOALS SCORED

YELLOW CARDS

SECOND STRAIGHT YELLOWS REDS

HOME 12 AWAY 24

31-45 6 2 46-60 5 10

FAILED TO SCORE

61-75 9 7

HOME 26 AWAY 10

76-90+ 4 10

GOALS SCORED

YELLOW CARDS

SECOND STRAIGHT YELLOWS REDS

HOME 23 AWAY 10

GOALS CONCEDED

38 HOME 15 AWAY 23

TOP SCORER

MOST ASSISTS

Jack Muldoon

45 HOME 19 AWAY 26

Aaron Martin

LAST FIVE LEAGUE GAMES

Scunthorpe United

Mansfield Town

Grimsby Town

Barrow

20 Feb (A)

23 Feb (H)

27 Feb (H)

2 Mar (A)

TOP SCORER

MOST ASSISTS

Callum Harriott

Stevenage

Crawley Town

L1-0

6 Mar (A)

20 Feb (A)

Exeter City

Forest Green Rovers

Carlisle United

Newport County

23 Feb (H)

27 Feb (A)

2 Mar (H)

6 Mar (H)

L1-2

L0-3 W2-1 L0-2

10 YEAR LEAGUE RECORD

NLN

Callum Harriott

LAST FIVE LEAGUE GAMES

L1-3 W1-0 W1-0 W1-0 L0-1

N NL L

2 3

NLN

11 12

16-30 4 9

CLEAN SHEETS

5 7

0-15

FAILED TO SCORE

61-75 8 5 76-90+ 5

Minute For Against

POINTS

46-60 2 10

HOME 19 AWAY 26

GOAL TIMINGS

CLEAN SHEETS

2 3

0-15

LEAGUE POSITION

NLN

11 12

NLN

L1 L1

10/11

11/12

12/13

13/14

14/15

15/16

16/17

17/18

18/19

19/20

10/11

11/12

12/13

13/14

14/15

15/16

16/17

17/18

18/19

19/20

L1 = EFL League One; L2 = EFL League Two; NL = National League / Conference Premier; NLN = National League North / Conference North

STATS ZONE SEASON PLAYER STATS 2020/21 # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 -

Player James Belshaw Ryan Fallowfield Dan Jones Josh Falkingham Will Smith Warren Burrell George Thomson Will Hondermarck Mark Beck Aaron Martin Jake Lawlor Joe Cracknell Brendan Kiernan Connor Kirby Jon Stead Lloyd Kerry Jack Muldoon Calvin Miller* Connor Hall Ed Francis Tom Walker* Josh March Melvin Minter Kevin Lokko Jay Williams Josh McPake Mitchell Roberts Simon Power Josh Andrews Jack Emmett**

League Two ■ A G 30 (0) 0 20 (2) 0 3 8 (3) 0 4 26 (5) 0 6 1 19 (0) 1 1 29 (2) 0 5 1 33 (0) 3 2 0 (1) 0 8 (7) 1 24 (6) 5 1 14 (3) 0 1 3 (0) 0 12 (8) 1 10 (6) 0 3 3 (10) 1 16 (6) 2 5 23 (7) 12 8 (2) 1 30 (0) 1 1 1 12 (1) 1 1 1 (6) 0 9 (4) 5 2 0 (0) 0 0 (1) 0 2 (1) 0 11 (0) 1 1 1 (0) 0 1 9 (2) 1 0 0 (2) 0 0 0 (0) 0 -

■ 1 1 -

TOWN TOP 3’s Cups A G 2 (0) 0 4 (0) 0 3 (1) 1 5 (0) 0 4 (0) 0 7 (0) 0 4 (3) 0 0 (0) 0 4 (3) 1 4 (3) 1 4 (0) 1 6 (0) 0 4 (2) 2 4 (3) 0 2 (4) 1 7 (0) 1 6 (0) 0 2 (1) 1 4 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 5 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 5 (0) 1 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 0

Season Town Career A G A G 32 (0) 0 176 0 24 (2) 0 148 3 11 (4) 1 15 1 31 (5) 0 170 7 23 (0) 0 67 4 37 (2) 0 257 12 37 (3) 3 170 30 0 (1) 0 1 0 12 (10) 2 122 30 28 (7) 6 39 6 18 (3) 1 21 1 9 (0) 0 17 0 16 (10) 3 66 11 14 (9) 0 23 0 5 (14) 2 51 9 23 (6) 3 183 17 29 (7) 12 132 45 10 (3) 2 13 2 34 (0) 1 73 6 12 (1) 1 13 1 6 (6) 0 12 0 9 (4) 5 13 5 0 (0) 0 0 0 5 (1) 1 6 1 2 (1) 0 3 0 11 (0) 1 11 1 1 (0) 0 1 0 9 (2) 1 11 1 0 (2) 0 2 0 1 (0) 0 229 22

GOALS 12 Jack Muldoon 5J osh March Aaron Martin 3G eorge Thomson

ASSISTS 6 Aaron Martin 5 George Thomson 4 Jack Muldoon

PITCH MINUTES 2941 George Thomson 2700 James Belshaw 2679 Connor Hall

APPEARANCES

(including on as a sub)

33 George Thomson 31 W arren Burrell Josh Falkingham 30 J ames Belshaw Connor Hall Aaron Martin Jack Muldoon Top 3’s (League Two 2020/21 only) A = Appearances; () = Games on as sub; G = Goals; Second Yellow *Out on Loan; **Left Club

BACK IN STOCK TOWN 2020/21 AWAY SHIRT

Available to order online!

PLUS

NEW LEISURE RANGE

PLUS replica home and goalkeeper shirts, official training wear, goodies and much more... Visit the Club Shop today at

harrogatetownafc.com/online-store 33

LEAGUE TWO ROUND UP

WEEKEND ROUND-UP

A LOOK OVER THE WEEKENDS GAMES IN LEAGUE TWO Alfie May celebrates opening the scoring for Cheltenham on Saturday

by Mark Walker, PA Media

Cheltenham Town survived a late fightback from Port Vale to win 3-2 on Saturday and preserve their one-point lead at the top of the table. It was an anxious finish for the Robins at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium after Alfie May and Vale goalkeeper Scott Brown’s own goal - against his former club - had put them in control. Michael Duff’s side forged further ahead through substitute Liam Sercombe’s 75thminute effort, but the visitors hit back with goals from Will Swan and Alex Hurst in the final seven minutes. League Two’s leading goalscorer Paul Mullin crashed home a brilliant last-minute winner to clinch secondplaced Cambridge United a 1-0 home win against Walsall. Mullin’s 23rd goal of the season kept the U’s one point above Forest Green Rovers, who secured a hard-fought 2-1 win at bottom club Grimsby Town. Mariners striker James Hanson cancelled out Jamille Matt’s penalty before the interval, but the visitors returned to winning ways thanks to midfielder Ebou Adams’ deflected second-half effort. Morecambe made it four wins out of five to climb up to fourth place as goals from Aaron Wildig, Toumani Diagouraga and Cole Stockton secured them a 3-1 home win against Carlisle United, for whom Aaron Hayden fired a late consolation. Tranmere Rovers slipped to fifth after losing 1-0 at home to Crawley Town, with Tom Nichols back-heeling his 13th goal of the season for the visitors. Newport County registered just their third league win in 16 matches, 2-0 at 10-man Colchester United, to climb up to sixth and back into the play-off places. Joss Labadie put the Exiles ahead and, soon after Colchester’s Frank Nouble had been sent off in the 76th minute, Padraig Amond toe-poked home their second. Danny Rowe’s stoppage-time equaliser for Bradford City earned his side a point in a 1-1 home draw against Bolton Wanderers. Both sides had won seven of their previous eight

matches and in a dramatic finish, Nathan Delfouneso appeared to have clinched all three points for the visitors before Rowe lashed home into the top corner in the seventh minute of added time. Harrogate Town’s three-game winning run was halted by Elliott List’s solitary second-half effort in a 1-0 defeat at Stevenage and Salford City were held 1-1 at home by Scunthorpe United after Tom Clarke’s opener was cancelled out by Abo Eisa’s penalty. Matt Jay’s hat-trick – the first of his career – after Joel Randall’s opener saw Exeter City thrash managerless Leyton Orient 4-0 in the day’s early kick-off. At the other end of the table, Barrow made the most of Mansfield Town defender Ryan Sweeney’s 63rdminute sending-off as Patrick Brough scored twice in quick succession in the final 15 minutes to secure a 2-0 win. The Bluebirds, who had lost six of their previous seven games, are now out of the bottom two, moving above Southend United, who drew 0-0 at Oldham Athletic.

LEAGUE TWO TABLE 2020/21

P 1 Cheltenham Town 32 2 Cambridge United 34 3 Forest Green Rovers 32 4 Morecambe 33 5 Tranmere Rovers 32 6 Newport County 32 7 Bolton Wanderers 33 8 Exeter City 31 9 Salford City 32 10 Bradford City 31 11 Harrogate Town 33 12 Crawley Town 31 13 Carlisle United 29 14 Leyton Orient 32 15 Stevenage 34 16 Oldham Athletic 32 17 Scunthorpe United 31 18 Walsall 32 19 Mansfield Town 32 20 Colchester United 32 21 Port Vale 33 22 Barrow 31 23 Southend United 33 24 Grimsby Town 31

HOME W D 8 4 9 5 7 5 9 4 9 1 8 4 7 4 9 3 8 9 7 5 5 4 7 4 9 1 7 4 6 6 4 2 6 2 5 5 3 6 7 5 5 4 4 7 4 2 3 4

L 4 4 3 3 7 3 6 4 0 4 6 4 4 5 5 11 7 7 6 4 7 5 10 9

F 24 23 22 25 25 17 19 33 28 17 12 23 28 23 17 21 18 17 19 23 21 22 13 12

A 17 14 16 18 19 14 18 16 12 14 15 15 19 16 12 29 21 21 23 19 19 21 23 24

AWAY W D 9 4 8 2 9 4 7 3 7 5 6 5 7 5 4 8 5 2 6 3 8 2 5 4 4 3 5 2 3 8 7 4 6 1 3 9 5 7 1 7 4 3 3 1 3 6 3 2

L 3 6 4 7 3 6 4 3 8 6 8 7 8 9 6 4 9 3 5 8 10 11 8 10

F 20 26 23 22 19 23 23 22 13 19 24 19 12 14 11 28 15 19 19 10 22 13 8 11

A 11 16 17 26 19 18 23 21 14 19 23 25 16 22 19 27 19 20 20 26 30 20 24 27

GD 16 19 12 3 6 8 1 18 15 3 -2 2 5 -1 -3 -7 -7 -5 -5 -12 -6 -6 -26 -28

Pts 59 58 57 55 54 51 51 50 50 47 45 44 43 42 41 39 39 38 37 36 34 29 29 24

Last updated 7 March 2021

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FIXTURES & RESULTS 2020/21 DATE

OPPOSITION

COMP

RES

ATT PTS POS STARTING XI

SEPTEMBER Sat 5

Tranmere Rovers (R1)

1-1

Town win 8-7 on pens

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Tue 8

Grimsby Town

2-2

Grimsby earn bonus point by winning 5-4 on pens

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Lokko ● ■

Kirby

Sat 12

Southend United

4-0

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Wed 16

West Bromwich Albion (R2)

0-3

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith ■

Hall

Falkingham

Sat 19

Walsall

2-2

Cracknell

Fallowfield ■ Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Tue 22

Notts County (Semi-Final)

1-0

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith ●

Hall

Falkingham

Sat 26

Port Vale

0-0

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

12 Belshaw

3 4

1 3

OCTOBER Sat 3

Bolton Wanderers

1-2

Tue 6

Leicester City U21’s

3-1

Mon 12

Bradford City

1-0

Sat 17

Barrow

1-0

Tue 20

Grimsby Town

2-1

Sat 24

Colchester United

Tue 27

Stevenage

Sat 31

Newport County

Fallowfield

Jones ■

Smith

Hall

Falkingham ■

Belshaw

Burrell

Jones ●

Lokko

Lawlor

Kirby

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham ■

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

1-2

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

0-0

Belshaw

Fallowfield ■ Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham ■

1-2

12 Belshaw

Jones ■

Burrell

Smith ●

Hall

Falkingham ■

14 Belshaw

NOVEMBER Tue 3

Tranmere Rovers

0-1

Jones

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Kirby ■

Fri 6

Skelmersdale United (R1)

4-1

Cracknell

Jones ■

Burrell

Lokko

Lawlor ●

Falkingham

Tue 10

Hull City

0-2

Cracknell

Jones

Burrell

Lokko

Lawlor

Kirby

Sat 14

Crawley Town

1-1

12 Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Lawlor

Hall

Falkingham

Sat 21

Leyton Orient

0-3

14 Belshaw

Fallowfield

Jones ■

Lawlor

Hall

Falkingham

Tue 24

Mansfield Town

1-0

12 Belshaw

Fallowfield

Jones ■

Burrell

Hall

Falkingham

Sat 28

Blackpool (R2)

0-4

Burrell ■

Hall

Lawlor

Lokko ■

Falkingham ■

Belshaw

DECEMBER Tue 1

Scunthorpe United

2-5

15 Belshaw

Kirby

Burrell

Lawlor

Hall ●

Falkingham

Sat 5

Forest Green Rovers

0-1

410

17 Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Lawlor

Hall

Falkingham

Sat 12

Morecambe

0-1

17 Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Lawlor

Hall

Falkingham

Tue 15

Exeter City

2-1

1,559

17 Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Lawlor ■

Hall

Falkingham

Sat 19

Salford City

0-1

495

17 Belshaw

Fallowfield ■ Burrell ■

Lawlor

Hall

Francis

Sat 26

Oldham Athletic

2-1

16 Belshaw

Fallowfield

Lawlor

Hall

Francis

Burrell

JANUARY Sat 9

Cambridge United

1-2

18 Belshaw

Roberts ■

Burrell ■

Lawlor

Hall

Francis

Tue 19

Exeter City

0-0

18 Belshaw

Williams

Burrell ■

Lawlor

Hall

Falkingham

Fri 22

Salford City

2-2

18 Belshaw

Williams

Francis ●

Lawlor

Hall

Falkingham

Tue 26

Tranmere Rovers

2-3

20 Belshaw

Francis

Burrell

Lawlor

Hall ■

Falkingham

Sat 30

Newport County

2-1

20 Belshaw

Francis

Burrell ■

Lawlor

Smith

Falkingham Falkingham

FEBRUARY Sat 6

Crawley Town

3-1

14 Belshaw

Francis

Burrell

Smith ■

Hall

Tue 9

Cheltenham Town

0-1

15 Belshaw

Francis

Burrell

Lawlor

Hall

Falkingham

Tue 16

Carlisle United

1-0

12 Belshaw

Francis ■

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Sat 20

Scunthorpe United

1-3

15 Belshaw

Francis

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Tue 23

Mansfield Town

1-0

13 Belshaw

Francis

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham ■

Sat 27

Grimsby Town

1-0

12 Belshaw

Fallowfield

Jones

Smith

Hall

Kerry

Tue 2

Barrow

1-0

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Jones

Smith ■

Burrell

Kerry ■

Sat 6

Stevenage

0-1

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Jones

Smith

Burrell

Kerry

Tue 9

Colchester United

W 19:00

Sat 13

Forest Green Rovers

W 15:00

Sat 20

Morecambe

W 15:00

Sat 27

Southend United

W 15:00

Fri 2

Walsall

W 15:00

Mon 5

Port Vale

W 15:00

Sat 10

Bolton Wanderers

W 15:00

Tue 13

Leyton Orient

W 19:00

Sat 17

Bradford City

W 15:00

Tue 20

Oldham Athletic

W 19:00

Sat 24

Carlisle United

W 15:00

Sat 1

Cambridge United

W 15:00

Sat 8

Cheltenham Town

W 15:00

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

KEY:

TOWN SCORE SHOWN FIRST ● Goal /  Penalty /  Own Goal

SUBSTITUTES Kerry ●

Thomson

Walker

Martin

Muldoon

Stead (73), Beck (82), Emmett, Kiernan, Kirby, Lokko

Kerry

Kiernan ●

Walker

Stead

Muldoon

Martin (58), Beck (64), Thomson (75), Falkingham, Emmett, Hall

Kerry ●

Thomson

Beck

Martin ● ■

Muldoon ● ●

Stead (58), Walker (75), Jones, Kirby, Lokko, Minter

Kerry

Thomson

Beck

Martin

Muldoon

Stead (61), Jones (63), Kirby (79), Kiernan, Walker, Lokko, Minter

Kerry

Thomson

Beck

Martin ●

Muldoon ●

Stead (71), Jones, Kirby, Walker, Lokko, Minter

Kerry ■

Thomson

Kiernan ■

Martin

Muldoon

Beck (70), Kirby (80), Stead (90), Lawlor, Lokko, Walker, Minter

Kerry

Thomson

Beck

Martin

Kiernan

Stead (65), Kirby (76 ■), Walker (80), Jones, Lokko, Minter

Kirby

Thomson ● ■

Beck

Martin

Miller

Kiernan (56), Walker (69), Stead (75), Burrell, Kerry, Cracknell

Kerry

Emmett

Kiernan ●

Stead ●

Walker

Miller (79), Martin (87), Fallowfield, Falkingham, Beck, Hall, Cracknell

Kerry ●

Thomson

Miller

Stead

Muldoon

Martin (80), Kiernan (82), Jones, Kirby, Walker, Cracknell

Kerry

Thomson

Miller

Stead

Muldoon ●

Kiernan (66), Martin (72), Jones, Kirby, Walker, Cracknell

Kerry ■

Thomson ■

Miller

Martin

Muldoon ● ●

Kirby (75), Kiernan (84), Stead (90), Jones, Walker, Cracknell

Kerry

Thomson

Miller

Martin

Muldoon

Stead (37 ●), Kiernan (57), Jones (82), Kirby, Walker, Cracknell

Kirby

Thomson

Miller

Stead

Muldoon

Kiernan (63), Beck (70), Walker (78), Jones, Lokko, Cracknell

Kerry ■

Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Kirby (40), Beck (85), Stead, Walker, Lokko, Cracknell

Kerry

Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Walker (70), Stead (75), Lokko (90), Emmett, Beck, Cracknell

Kirby

Walker

Miller ●

Beck ●

Muldoon

Thomson (64), Kiernan (64), Martin (69 ●), Jones, Lokko, Cracknell

Kerry

Kiernan

Beck

Martin

Walker

Thomson (59), Stead (78), Falkingham, Muldoon, Miller, Hall, Belshaw

Kerry ■

Thomson

Walker

Kiernan

Muldoon ●

Martin (45), Jones (76), Kirby (76), Stead, Beck, Cracknell

Kerry

Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Burrell (45 ■), Stead (60), Kirby (60), Walker (84), Lokko, Cracknell

Kerry

Thomson

Miller ●

Beck

Muldoon

Kiernan (67), Martin (82), Lawlor (88), Kirby, Walker, Cracknell

Kerry ■

Thomson

Miller ■

Beck

Muldoon

Kiernan (63), Kirby (88), Fallowfield, Stead, Martin, Cracknell

Kerry

Thomson

Miller

Beck

Muldoon ●

Kiernan (45), Martin (68), Stead, Cracknell

Kirby

Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Beck (90), Kerry, Stead, Miller, Lokko, Cracknell

Kirby

Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Stead (80), Beck, Kerry, Miller, Lokko, Cracknell

Kirby

Thomson

Kiernan ●

Martin

Muldoon ●

Francis (59), Miller (83), Stead, Kerry, Lokko, Cracknell

Kirby ■

Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Kerry (73), Miller (85), Stead, Lokko, Cracknell

Kirby

Thomson ● ●

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Falkingham (72), Kerry (90), Miller, Stead, Lokko, Cracknell

Kirby

Thomson

March ■

McPake

Muldoon ●

Williams (54), Falkingham (65 ■), Kerry (65 ■ ■), Stead (82), Hondermarck (82), Minter

Francis

Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Fallowfield (76), Kirby (79), March (83), McPake, Hondermarck, Minter

McPake

Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon ●

Power (74), March (74), Hondermarck, Kirby, Lokko, Minter

McPake ● Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Power (60), March (60 ●), Hondermarck, Kirby, Williams, Minter

Power

Thomson

March ● ■

Martin ●

McPake

Muldoon (86), Hondermarck, Kiernan, Kerry, Williams, Minter

Power ●

Thomson

March 

Martin ●

McPake ■

Lawlor (70), Muldoon (73), Kerry (73), Andrews (89), Kiernan, Minter

Power

Thomson

March

Martin

McPake

Muldoon (75), Fallowfield (75), Andrews (89), Kerry, Kiernan, Minter

Power

Thomson

March 

Martin

McPake

Beck (72), Lawlor (76), Kerry (84), Muldoon, Kiernan, Minter

Power

Thomson

March 

Martin

McPake

Beck (70), Muldoon (88), Kerry, Lawlor, Kiernan, Minter

Power

Thomson

March

Martin ●

McPake

Kerry (63), Jones (71), Muldoon (76), Beck (76), Fallowfield, Minter

Power

Thomson

March

Martin

McPake

Burrell (68), Beck (68 ●), Muldoon (68), Falkingham (81), Francis, Minter

Power

Thomson

March

Beck

McPake

Muldoon (63 ●), Falkingham (63), Martin (63), Francis, Lawlor, Minter

Power

Thomson

Muldoon

Beck

McPake

Falkingham (63), March (72), Martin, Francis, Lawlor, Minter

Tuesday 9th March 2021 Fixtures Bolton Wanderers v Cambridge United Carlisle United v Grimsby Town Crawley Town v Salford City Forest Green Rovers v Morecambe Harrogate Town v Colchester United Leyton Orient v Stevenage Mansfield Town v Cheltenham Town 1st sub / 2nd sub / 3rd sub / 4th sub / 5th sub; ■ Yellow Card / H* At Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster

Newport County v Bradford City Port Vale v Oldham Athletic Scunthorpe United v Exeter City Southend United v Tranmere Rovers

Second Yellow Card / ■ Red Card

SQUAD & MANAGEMENT TEAM

FIRST-TEAM PLAYING SQUAD N O

IN A PT A C

IN N A LO

James

Ryan

Belshaw

Dan

Fallowfield

Josh

Jones

Will

Falkingham

Warren

Burrell

Smith

IN N O N A LO

George

Thomson

Brendan

William

Connor

Kiernan

Aaron

Beck

Hondermarck

Mark

Jake

Martin

Jon

Kirby

Lloyd

Stead

Joe

Lawlor

Kerry

Jack

Cracknell

Connor

Hall

Muldoon

IN N O N A LO

Josh

Francis

Melvin

March

Kevin

Minter

Lokko

N O

Roberts

N A LO

Mitchell

N O

McPake

Jay

Williams

Josh

Simon

Power

Josh

Andrews

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Simon

Weaver MANAGER

Paul

Thirlwell

ASSISTANT MANAGER

Phil

Priestley

GOALKEEPER COACH

Lee

Rachel

CHIEF SCOUT

HEAD PHYSIO

Barraclough

Davis

Proud to support Harrogate Town Football Club

Call 01423 524 322 or visit www.howardmatthews.co.uk 39

HELPING FAMILIES ENJOY FOOTBALL AT HOME The ‘homemade waste pipe goal’. Waste pipes, push-fit knuckle bends and some barrier fencing. It doesn’t seem like much, but sometimes it’s all you need to transform your garden into a proper footy pitch.

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NEXT UP FOR TOWN AT HOME

Mo recambe

Josh Falkingham and Carlos Mendes-Gomes battle for the ball at the Globe Arena in December

Saturday 20th March 2021 Sky Bet League Two, 3pm

Founded in 1920, Morecambe first entered the Conference in 1995-96 and a play-off win over Exeter in 2007 saw them promoted to the Football League. Since then the Shrimps have stayed in the fourth tier, with a best finish of fourth in 2010, losing in the play-off semi-finals. Having finished 22nd last season, Derek Adams side were expected to struggle again this term, but they’ve have had a fantastic campaign, and going into the business end of the season, sit fourth (at the time of going to print) just two points off the automatic promotion places. It shouldn’t come as a surprise though, as Adams has a good record when it comes to League Two, having taken Plymouth Argyle up to League One in 2016-17. While the challenge and constraints at Morecambe are different to Argyle, the 45-yearold knows what it takes to get out of this league.

Following a mixed start to the season with three wins, three defeats and two draws, an excellent December saw them win five out of six games and become real promotion candidates. That form has continued and the Shrimps remain in the mix. When the sides met at the Globe Arena in midDecember, Aaron Wildig’s second half header was enough for Morecambe as they held out for a 1-0 win and inflicted a third straight league defeat on the bounce for Town.

ORDER YOUR PRINTED MATCHDAY PROGRAMME FROM THE CLUB SHOP TODAY

ON THE ROAD

Fo res t Green Ro vers

Saturday 13th March 2021 Sky Bet League Two, 3pm

After the disappointment of falling away from the play-offs last season and eventually finishing 10th, Mark Cooper’s side are on course to put things right in League Two this season. Heading into December last season, they were second, just two points behind Swindon Town and with a game in hand, but just three wins from 17 games before the season was ended early meant they were a way off their early season heights. For much of this season, however, they have occupied the automatic promotion places, and up until February 24 had only lost five games. Now sitting third (at the time of going to print), their form in February with four wins in five, looked 42

like it was going to take them out of sight of the chasing pack, but two uncharacteristic defeats at home to Southend United and away at Stevenage recently have stifled that charge and demonstrated the unpredictability of this league. In the reverse fixture at the EnviroVent Stadium in early December, Jamille Matt’s 57th-minute strike was enough to secure all three points for Forest Green Rovers and leave Town empty handed.

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HARROGATE TOWN

COLCHESTER UNITED

1 James Belshaw 2 Ryan Fallowfield 3 Dan Jones 4 Josh Falkingham c 5 Will Smith 6 Warren Burrell 7 George Thomson 8 William Hondermarck 9 Mark Beck 10 Aaron Martin 12 Jake Lawlor 13 Joe Cracknell 14 Brendan Kiernan 15 Connor Kirby 16 Jon Stead 17 Lloyd Kerry 18 Jack Muldoon 20 Connor Hall 22 Ed Francis 24 Josh March 25 Melvin Minter 26 Kevin Lokko 27 Jay Williams 28 Josh McPake 29 Mitch Roberts 30 Simon Power 31 Josh Andrews

1 Dean Gerken 2 Miles Welch-Hayes 3 Josh Doherty 4 Tom Lapslie 5 Tommy Smith 6 Omar Sowunmi 7 Courtney Senior 8 Harry Pell c 9 Aramide Oteh 10 Jevani Brown 11 Callum Harriott 12 Paris Cowan-Hall 14 Noah Chilvers 16 Diaz Wright 18 Tom Eastman 21 Ryan Clampin 22 Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu 23 Kwame Poku 24 Ben Stevenson 25 Andre Hasanally 28 Callum Coulter 29 Shamal George 30 Al-Amin Kazeem 32 Jake Hutchinson 33 Marley Marshall-Miranda 34 Samson Tovide 36 Harvey Sayer 37 Josh Bohui 38 Junior Tchamadeu 39 Michael Folivi 45 Frank Nouble

MANAGER: Simon Weaver

NEXT HOME

INTERIM HEAD COACH: Wayne Brown

MATCH OFFICIALS Referee: Simon Mather

NEXT AWAY

Assistant Referees: Paul Graham / Gary Hilton

MORECAMBE

Fourth Official: Carl Boyeson

SKY BET LEAGUE TWO SAT 20 MARCH - 3PM

FOREST GREEN ROVERS SKY BET LEAGUE TWO SAT 13 MARCH - 3PM

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