'Tea shops town not too posh for FA Cup clash'

"You're just a town full of tea shops" is the chant away fans sing when they visit Harrogate Town's ground. But the League Two side are determined to defy the image later when they take on Leeds United in the FA Cup third round.

A gulf of almost 70 places separates the two clubs, with Town hovering around the bottom of League Two, while Leeds top the Championship.

But ahead of the first-ever competitive clash between the two Yorkshire sides, Harrogate said they would show the town was not "too posh for football".

"It's rubbish of course, we love football here," said the club's chief executive Sarah Barry.

Irving Weaver, owner and chairman of the North Yorkshire club, vowed when he took over in 2011 to "put Harrogate further up the football pyramid".

Together with his son, former Sheffield Wednesday defender Simon Weaver, he has lifted Harrogate from non-league minnows to League Two and now to a possible giant-killing FA Cup match, against their Elland Road neighbours, just 20 miles (32km) away.

Bernard Higgins, from the Harrogate Town Hall of Fame, said: "The fact that we're taking 4,000 supporters to Elland Road shows how well the club has come in the last few years.

"It's a Yorkshire derby, what else could you wish for? Playing against Leeds United who've won the FA cup."

And it seems the clash has become a talking point in the town, even in the genteel surroundings of its most famous tea shop.

Su Halliday, deputy manager at Bettys, said: "It was definitely the talk just after the draw.

"I've seen banners outside and a guy selling tickets with a half-Leeds, half-Harrogate scarf, so it's definitely doing well for the town."

Club chief Ms Barry said the match had left some fans torn over which side to support.

"We've got an awful lot of supporters who are both Leeds United and Harrogate Town fans, so there's just something magical about this," she said.

"It's dividing families, with supporters saying 'which hat do I wear? Am I Harrogate, am I Leeds?' It's brilliant."

BBC sports presenter Mike Bushell said he shared the "which hat?" dilemma.

"I am like many of the fans in Harrogate, having gone to school there supporting Leeds United. So many fans and families don't know who to support," he said.

Meanwhile, BBC commentator John Murray, a North Yorkshire resident himself, said he thought the shared loyalties might make for a more amicable game than usual.

He said: "For this match there is such a mix between Harrogate and Leeds fans, I think it could be a friendly kind of cup tie, with not much edge to it."

That remains to be seen. Kick-off is planned for 17:45 GMT, weather permitting of course.

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