Exeter City v Harrogate Town

Exeter City are on a roll in League Two and will climb into the top three with a win over Harrogate Town. 

The Grecians won away at Bradford City last time out thanks to Kieran Phillips’ goal on the stroke of half-time and their boss, Matt Taylor, said he was “delighted” with the three points. They are now unbeaten in their last seven games in the league and their last loss came on 1st February against Sutton United. The Grecians have risen to 4th in the league table and are only two points off 3rd place Northampton Town in the automatic promotion places in League Two with a game in-hand. A key reason behind their recent success has been the loan signing of Phillips in January after he spent the first-half of the campaign with fellow fourth tier side Walsall, where he managed to score five goals in all competitions. The youngster has injected more pace and power into Taylor’s attack and provides them something different to their other options like Jevani Brown and Sam Nombe up top. He got his first goal at Valley Parade over the weekend and will now be in confident mood ahead of the clash against Harrogate. The striker isn’t the only goal threat that Exeter have and they have spread their goal across the whole team so far this term, with Jay managing 10, Nombe firing nine, Timothy Dieng getting eight from midfield and Brown playing his part by chipping in with eight as well. The fact they aren’t reliant on one sole striker, like promotion rivals Newport County do with Dom Telford, makes them serious contenders to reach League One between now and the end of the season and Phillips’ addition gives them another goal scoring outlet now too. 

Harrogate are no pushovers but are leaking goals at the moment. They drew 3-3 last time out against Rochdale and their boss, Simon Weaver, said their players were a “bit upset” after throwing away three points with their opponents levelling the game on 87 minutes through Tahvon Campbell. Central defender Wayne Burrell was at fault for one of the Dale’s goals after being caught dithering on the ball but his manager has insisted he won’t be dropping him against Exeter, despite Will Smith waiting on the bench to replace him if needed. The Sulphurites lost 3-1 at home to Crawley Town last Tuesday so have now conceded six goals in their last two matches which will be music to the ears of Exeter’s in-form attackers. To make matters worse, the Yorkshire outfit are also on a poor run of form on the road and haven’t won away for the last five matches with their last victory that wasn’t on home soil coming back on 23rd November against lowly Carlisle United. 

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Hartlepool United v Tranmere Rovers

Graeme Lee was the man chosen to replace Dave Challinor at Hartlepool United earlier this season and has adapted well to senior football management after his spell in charge of Middlesbrough Under-23s. 

The Pools are in their first campaign back in the Football League after their promotion from the National League last term and have made the step up from non-league with ease. They are unbeaten in their last five games in the league and won 1-0 away at Crawley Town last time out thanks to Omar Bogle’s goal. Lee actually said he was “disappointed” with the performance against the Reds Devils but winning when you’re not at your best is a sign of a good team. The North East club delved into the January transfer window last month to sign the former Wigan Athletic and Birmingham City attacker from League One side Doncaster Rovers and he has since scored twice since his move. Bogle is a vastly experienced player in League Two and fired 19 goals in 30 games the last time he played at this level with Grimsby Town back in the 2016/17 season and is already showing signs that he is rolling back the years with his new club. He gives Lee another option in attack and stepped into Mark Cullen’s shoes over recent weeks after his goals have dried up at the Suits Direct Stadium. Bogle wasn’t the only attacking signing for Hartlepool this winter either, as they lured Marcus Carver and Isaac Fletcher to the club from Southport and Middlesbrough respectively to inject more quality into their attack. They are now well stocked with options up top and have plenty of players at their disposal who have the capacity to cause problems to Tranmere. 

Micky Mellon’s men go into this game on the back of their shock 1-0 loss to manager-less Walsall over the weekend. The Whites loss against the Saddlers was their first in four games and was only their eighth out of 31 matches. They remain well in the hunt for an automatic promotion to League One though and will be desperate not to lose two on the spin as they make the tricky trip to Hartlepool. Their chances of winning the league title are quickly dwindling as they now sit 11 points behind table toppers Forest Green Rovers and Rob Edwards’ side also have a game in hand on the Merseyside outfit. Tranmere have been without experienced midfielder Jay Spearing through injury over the past couple of games and his missed his influence in the middle of the park. The former Liverpool man has been replaced by Everton loanee Lewis Warrington whilst he recovers but his replacement is playing senior football for the first time in his career and lacks experience. He was substituted off against Walsall and was replaced by Sam Foley, who also lacks the same energy and enthusiasm that Spearing has. 

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