The motivation for “doing the 92” can vary from person to person, and even from season to season. This was my sixth new league ground of the season so far, from the 32,500 capacity PL standard Pride Park, to this, the barely EPL standard Wetherby Rd. On a late autumnal  October night, one hundred miles from home, I was reminded  that it is cold up north as I queued for the only known antidote, Bovril. I stayed at the Hilton, Majestic, only a mile and a half away. In the  bar  I was asked by a fellow resident whether I was going to ”the game”? So was he – Man United v FC Copenhagen. I saw the better game- and for a third of the price he paid.

When Villa aren’t playing, I have decided to take in as many Mansfield away games at new  unvisited grounds as I can, with league two awash with uncollected scalps. Wetherby rd is small, the smallest league ground  I have ever been to. Capacity is somewhere between 4000 and 5000 depending upon how you count. Never have I visited a ground with more stands. Redevelopment at the Myrings  south terrace end has resulted in two new stands, one four completed rows low level stand offering around 200 seats which was inexplicably not used ,( maybe an external  access issue) , and an adjacent new cantilever  bigger stand still under construction. That meant that Mansfield, who took 3,888 to Notts County for their last away were given just 458, 147 seats, 303 standing.

The reality is that Harrogate are poorly supported, the gate of 2304 leaves you with barely 1750 home supporters, their record attendance is  3048 v Portsmouth, an average home attendances hover wound the 2200 mark. This is only their third  league season in an area  which feeds support to Leeds United,  Bradford City and York. I fear for their long term longevity.

The club is in transition. The stand  adjacent to the Wetherby rd sits tight against it, and is a respectable side terrace. The north terrace does no run the width of the pitch but is fine, the main stand where I sat has a decent depth and offers excellent views. They have come a long way in a short space of time. In recent decades the non metropolitan northern clubs have had a rough time of it, and I would much rather a Harrogate than  a Crawley, Sutton or Stevenage.

As for the game, 18 matches undefeated, the second consecutive away game scoring four goals, the Stags were magnificent.