Harrogate Town (H) Friday 18th April, 3pm

Match Centre 24/25
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"The two armies met up in Yorkshire,
Both leaders the same tactics tried;
To each soldier they gave a big standard to wave,
In hopes they’d impress t’other side"

(Marriott Edgar)

Well, with 4 games to go in this crazy season, the headline has to be:-

AUTOMATIC PROMOTION IS AMAZINGLY, INCREDIBLY, SURPRISINGLY, UNBELIEVABLY … IN OUR OWN HANDS!!!

4 games to go, win those games and we’re up. There’s no logical reason to say it can’t be done, after all, we won 9 games in a row not so long ago - the only thing standing in our way appears to be our own form which has resulted in draws and defeats for far too long.

If any team could be assessed as being “on the beach” it’s Harrogate Town, mathematically out of the promotion race and almost certain to retain their League 2 status (9 points clear of Carlisle Utd). In 42 games Harrogate have only scored 35 goals whilst conceding 54, so we surely have high hopes of a win … don’t we? Their current form -

March 15th Newport County (A) Lost 3-0
March 22nd Chesterfield (A) Drew 0-0
March 29th Gillingham (H) Drew 1-1
April 1st Tranmere Rovers (H) Won 3-2
April 5th AFC Wimbledon (A) Lost 1-0
April 12th Grimsby Town (H) Drew 2-2

Harrogate Town are still run by the Weaver family, Chairman Irving Weaver and son Simon as Manager. Unusually, in the realms of football management, Simon Weaver has been Harrogate’s manager for 16 years next month. Unlike our squad they seem to prefer older goalkeepers, with Mark Oxley (once on our books on loan from Hull City) and James Belshaw both being 34 years of age, which of course is no real barrier for players in that position.

So … what will Mat Sadler decide to do for this VERY important game? Stick or twist? Bring out the same “tried and trusted” line-ups or venture into the new territory of experimenting with players we have on loan (with the approval if necessary of their parent club)? Encourage football on the deck rather than high hoofing? Tricky…

Prediction? This is very very nearly our “Last chance saloon”, and anything less than 3 points has to be unacceptable. In view of Harrogate’s inability to average even one goal per game we should see a Saddlers win by 2-0 on Good Friday.

UTS

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2-0 Saddlers win for me. Every fan needs to be loud and proud and roar the team on.

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No logic to this really - but I’m going for a very nervous 1-0 win.

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1-1 and probably an angry Bescot.

I think I fancy us to win at Newport more than this one.

I love being wrong though, and am often. So come on Saddlers, it’s still there on a plate, if you want it.

5

Unleash the dogs of war…please😟

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Great pre match piece welshie. Nervous, what nerves..5-0 saddlers :grin:

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#winnable

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I’ve got to go for a very nervy 2-1

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One of the most comfortable away wins all season for Harrogate

Sadler out

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If ever we needed a positive start to a game this is the one. A win is desperately needed no matter how we get it and I’m sure the crowd will get behind the team and make some noise.
I’m hoping we play football but I’m expecting to see yet more lump it to jamma and if that’s the case and we end up losing the atmosphere will become unbearable.

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It’s gonna click result wise … 3:1 Walsall (we cannot keep a clean sheet right now… unless Williams finds the dressing room entrance door again)… goals from Tayls, Levi and Hall. One thing for sure is we need to win the toss, get our nose in front before half time and the 3 tiers can drag the boys over the line in the second half. Loud and Proud throughout will be needed BUT Sadler you need to ensure you give us something to get behind and fight to win early tackles, 2nd balls and get the foot in the ball early on… COYS

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As the old saying goes - it’s always darkest before the dawn. On Friday the sun will rise again (metaphorically speaking at least).

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Any team in this league wants to play us right now but I will do my best to try and be positive we scrape a 1 nil win.

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As I won’t be there I think it is a likely win. 2-0 will do.

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Just want us to be aggressive and combative, to fight for every ball and look after it when we have possession. If that means taking out players who are tired or out of form, so be it.

All we need is some momentum. Win this one then get something at Newport and that sets up a potentially huge game against Accrington.

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Absolutely.

It would be horrible to go into that Accrington game with no chance at all. I’d have to go cos of the kids, but I’m not sure I could face it.

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Well, I hope it does literally, otherwise we are in trouble.

I don’t care what the team is, the players, the staff and supporters just have to put everything into this game.

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18

I reckon we as supporters 100% know that and will play our part - I just hope MS realises that his squad selection will dictate the early atmosphere in the ground - surely, surely, he knows he can’t stick with the same old (failed) formula for what is the biggest game of the season so far….

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Even if we can find the levels of those tough games against Wimbledon and Doncaster, start as aggressively as we did the Vale game. Just some indication of the fight and desire missing on Saturday.

Huge two games for MS. Six points and I think he starts next season as Walsall manager, anything less than four and he’s a goner.

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How did it come to this? That’s a rhetorical question.

Earlier in the season, my kids were planning which game we’d get promoted. I know, more fool me I joined in with them. They said it would be before the Vale game, I had Friday’s game v Harrogate at around where I thought we would do it. I never thought for a second we would be clinging on to third by our finger nails.

I think you are right, the players need to come out, blood and thunder because I fear it will be more of a nervous atmosphere on Friday, especially if we start slowly.

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