Forest Green Rovers welcome second-placed Harrogate Town to The New Lawn on Saturday lunchtime after both clubs experienced contrasting fortunes in midweek. Will Grigg scored on his debut as Rovers ended a five-match National League winless run, while Harrogate suffered a remarkable 3-0 defeat at nine-man Carlisle United that brought their five-match winning sequence to an end.
Forest Green returned to winning ways with a 2-0 home victory over Eastleigh on Wednesday. Grigg, who joined from Chesterfield earlier this month, opened the scoring in the 28th minute after Kelvin Abrefa created the opportunity. The striker had already tested goalkeeper Nick Townsend inside two minutes, while Sean Etaluku struck the crossbar before the breakthrough.
Substitute Filozofe Mabete added the second goal in the 76th minute, securing Rovers’ first league victory since beating Gateshead 4-0 on 12 September. Forest Green had previously drawn with Carlisle United, Sutton United and Wealdstone during their winless sequence, while defeats to Boston United and Hartlepool United had left them in the lower half of the table.
The club is currently operating under a three-person coaching arrangement following Robbie Savage’s departure for Peterborough United earlier this month. Yan Klukowski, Josh Bowen and Jonathan Gould have been overseeing first-team matters, with the Eastleigh victory giving the trio a league win ahead of Harrogate’s visit.
Simon Weaver’s Harrogate side face a difficult response to Wednesday’s defeat at Brunton Park. Josh Williams gave Carlisle the lead in the 10th minute before Miguel Azeez and Harvey Bunker were both sent off inside the opening half-hour. Despite playing against nine men for more than an hour, Harrogate conceded further goals to Callum Whelan and substitute Ryan Galvin, losing 3-0 and seeing their five-match winning run ended.
Harrogate are also dealing with significant injury problems. Leading goalscorer Bailey Hobson missed the Carlisle match after suffering a broken foot and is expected to be sidelined for around three months. Tom Lees and Bryn Morris remain long-term absentees, while Will McGowan is doubtful after sustaining a glute injury during the previous weekend’s 3-1 victory over Sutton United.
Josh Hmami provides another attacking threat for Harrogate, having scored six league goals since joining from FC Halifax Town in the summer. The midfielder was on target against Sutton, when the Sulphurites scored three times in five first-half minutes. Before the defeat at Carlisle, Harrogate had also recorded league victories over Woking, Hornchurch, Hartlepool United and Eastleigh.
The clubs last met in League Two during the 2023/24 season, when Forest Green won 1-0 away in August before Harrogate secured a 2-0 victory at The New Lawn the following January. Harrogate also won 3-1 on their previous visit to Nailsworth in April 2022, giving them victories on their last two trips to Forest Green.
Saturday’s match kicks off at 12.30pm, with Harrogate second in the National League on 31 points from 15 games and Forest Green 15th on 18 points from 13. Rovers are seeking successive home league wins for the first time since August, while Weaver’s side will be looking to recover from their heaviest defeat of the season.
