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Football: Harrogate Town to compete in FA Cup third round for the first time in history

  • reporter 
Harrogate’s Wetherby Road ground

By Joshua Hall

Harrogate Town have made it to the iconic FA Cup third round for the first time in the club’s 102-year history.

The Sulphurites will travel down south to face off against Championship opposition Luton Town FC early in the new year.

The historic moment for the club comes after they knocked League One side, Portsmouth, out of the competition with a dramatic 2-1 victory away from home.

Fans were excited at the prospect of potentially seeing a Premier League side play at Wetherby Road, but will have to settle for the away trip to Luton.

Lifelong Harrogate Town fan, Robbie Gilson, said: “I’ve never seen anything like this. The club are flying at the moment. To be in League Two is really special in itself, but this is on another level. I can’t wait for the trip to Luton and I genuinely think we might have a chance of advancing.”

The third round tie will take place on January 8 2022, but is subject to change due to television rights.

Harrogate midfielder, George Thompson, spoke about the draw and their chances of progressing past The Hatters.

He said: “I’m not going to lie when you’re watching the draw you’re looking at the big teams and you’ve obviously got your eye on them.”

“We’ve drawn a championship team so it’s another good test for us to see where we’re at. We know it’s going to be a tough game, but we will go there with the same mindset we do for every game. That’s to impose ourselves on the game and to try and get a result.”

Luton currently sit 12th in the Championship and will be a substantial challenge for the men in Yellow when they make the journey down to face Nathan Jones’ side. 

Lewis Williams is a member of the ‘We Are Luton Town’ supporters group and runs a YouTube account documenting the club’s ups and downs. 

He told Yorkshire Voice: “It’s more of a no excuse to lose match. We have the better players so we should be winning, but it’s the FA Cup and anything can happen. It will be a nice change. It’s always good to see different teams that we haven’t played against.”

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