Harrogate Town face crucial shootout for survival - starting with Walsall

Walsall’s play-off hopes might be mathematically out of reach - but they can still play a critical role in deciding who survives the drop in League Two.

They ruthlessly condemned second from bottom Barrow to a 3-1 defeat in Cumbria last weekend to leave them one-point adrift of safety.

That ended a run of four games without a victory in League Two and the Saddlers will now be searching back-to-back league wins for the first time in 2026.

Harrogate start the weekend at the bottom of the pile albeit only on goal difference - with just a single point also separating them from safety.

The Sulphurites registered a potentially crucial 1-0 victory over Colchester United at Wetherby Road on Saturday to leave them with a fighting chance of beating the drop.

As if that wasn’t dramatic enough, the winning goal was scored by Brighton loanee Jacob Slater in the 99th-minute.

That has left the relegation battle finely poised with just four points separating Harrogate and Tranmere in 20th - who won 3-1 at Cheltenham Town on Tuesday night.

Simon Weaver has successfully preserved their League Two status for the past five seasons and a victory at Bescot could free them from the bottom-two for the first time since mid-December.

A 20-match winless run, which included a 2-0 home defeat against Walsall in the reverse fixture, between October 6 and February 3 has ultimately put them in this position.

Form in recent months has picked up considerably - with Harrogate picking up five wins from their last 14 league games.

Harrogate were hit with a major blow last week when joint-leading scorer Ellis Taylor - who has seven goals this term - was ruled out for the rest of the season with a ruptured quad tendon.

Taylor has joined Sulphurites talisman Jack Muldoon who will also be out for the remainder of the campaign after damaging a ligament in his ankle.