Harrogatevs.Gillingham

In September's reverse fixture, 37-year-old Shaun Williams grabbed the headlines at the Priestfield Stadium as he netted the only goal of the game in the fourth minute of stoppage time to hand the Gills all three points.

Match preview

Harrogate Town were denied consecutive wins for the first time since January as they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man AFC Wimbledon at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

An eighth-minute strike from Matty Daly gave the visitors a dream start to the game but Irish forward Ronan Curtis restored parity in the 58th minute moments before receiving a straight red card for serious foul play.

Prior to that, Harrogate snapped their eight-game winless run on March 23, when they beat Bradford City 3-0 on home turf courtesy of goals from Josh March, George Thompson and a late own goal from Daniel Oyegoke.

This poor run of results has seen Simon Weaver's side drop out of the playoff places as they now occupy 13th-place in the League Two standings, level on 55 points with 12th-placed Newport County.

Gillingham, on the other hand, were involved in a share of the spoils for the seventh time in eight home games as they played out a goalless draw with Crewe Alexandra on Friday.

A total of 17 shots were fired at the Priestfield Stadium, but with just two apiece being on target for either side, neither goalkeeper would end up picking the ball out of the back of the net, with a draw being a fair result upon reflection.

With that result, Stephen Clemence's men have now gone nine back-to-back games without defeat at the Priestfield Stadium, claiming seven draws and two wins since a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Crawley Town on Boxing Day.

However, the Gills head into Monday's game on a run of just one win in their most recent six matches while losing twice and claiming three draws since the first week of March.

This inconsistent run of results has put Gillingham's quest for a playoff ticket under threat as they sit seventh in the League Two table, just one point above eight-placed Wimbledon just outside the playoff places.

Harrogate Town League Two form:

D

L

D

D

W

D

Gillingham League Two form:

L

D

L

D

W

D

Team News

Harrogate Town will take to the pitch without the services of English defender Liam Gibson, who has missed each of the last three matches through injury.

Nigerian forward Samuel Folarin returned from a two-month injury spell at the weekend when he made a 12-minute cameo against Wimbledon and the 23-year-old should start from the bench on Monday.

With his assist in the aforementioned game, George Thomson now has six goal involvements in his last seven matches and the 31-year-old should lead the host's attack, alongside former Stevenage man March.

As for Gillingham, Clemence will be unable to call upon the services of Welsh midfielder Dom Jefferies, who has been sidelined since sustaining an injury against MK Dons back in January.

He is joined on the Gills' injury table by Colombian striker Jorge Cabezas, who is set to sit out his 11th consecutive game since picking up an injury against Swindon Town on February 13.

Harrogate Town possible starting lineup:

Belshaw; O'Connor, McDonald, Foulds; Burrell, Sutton, Dooley, Daly, Sivi; March, Thompson

Gillingham possible starting lineup:

Morris; Hutton, Ehmer, Masterson, Clark; Dieng, Coleman; Mahoney, Lapsile, Williams; Hawkins

We say: Harrogate Town 2-2 Gillingham

With Harrogate and Gillingham in contention for a playoff spot, we anticipate an action-packed contest at the EnviroVent Stadium, with both sides going all out for the result. However, we predict they will cancel out each other's efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.

Previews by email