Grimsby Town will be well aware of one Harrogate Town quality | OneFootball

Harrogate midfielder Ben Fox was a key player as Grimsby Town won promotion back to the EFL in 2022. He'll prove a difficult opponent this weekend.

Grimsby Town continue their play-off push with a tricky-looking trip to Harrogate Town's Wetherby Road on Saturday, and they're likely to find a familiar face in their opponents' line-up in the shape of 2022 promotion winner Ben Fox.

The 27-year-old played a vital role as the Mariners returned to the EFL at the first time of asking following their relegation at the end of a disastrous 2020/21 campaign, forming an exceptional central midfield partnership with Irishman Gavan Holohan.

Both players became firm favourites with the Grimsby faithful, but while the latter stayed on at Blundell Park for a further two years, Fox opted to move on, joining Northampton Town ahead of the 2022/23 season.

The energetic former Burton Albion youngster, who also enjoyed loan spells with the likes of Tamworth and Gateshead earlier in his career, helped the Cobblers to promotion to the third-tier at the first time of asking, but didn't feature in either fixture against his former employers, for one reason or another.

Having helped guide Northampton to a mid-table finish in their first season back in League One, Fox exited the Sixfields Stadium at the end of the January transfer window, joining Simon Weaver's Sulphurites on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Unsurprisingly, the combative midfield man has slotted in seamlessly in North Yorkshire, turning in a string of impressive performances since his debut in Harrogate's 1-0 defeat at Bradford City in early February.

The Mariners will need to match Fox's workrate and desire in Saturday's clash

Fox is a good all-round midfielder, best known for his infectious workrate and relentless levels of fitness that enable him to get round the pitch and dominate his opponents.

Physically strong, and excelling at covering ground and winning individual battles in the middle of the park, the former Mariner's impressive displays in the memorable play-off matches against Notts County, Wrexham and Solihull Moors caught the eye, with his effervescence and energy shining through in helping his team over the line as all three encounters went to extra-time.

Artell and his Grimsby side will have to find a way to negate Fox's qualities if they are to come out victorious in Saturday's clash. However, the Mariners' engine room has been in fine form themselves this season, and they will hope the blend of technique and physicality offered by the likes of George McEachran, Kieran Green, and Evan Khouri can see them come out on top and add to their 10 victories on the road so far this campaign.

Fox isn't the only former Grimsby man in Harrogate's midfield

Another former Mariner joins Fox in the Harrogate midfield, with Bryn Morris partnering the former Northampton man to provide Weaver with a strong midfield base that has seen his side go unbeaten in their previous eight league matches.

Morris joined Grimsby just as Fox departed, with the former Shrewsbury Town and Portsmouth man playing his part in the Mariners' incredible FA Cup run all the way to the quarter-finals in 2023, as well as helping then-boss Paul Hurst's side to a top-half finish in their first season back in the fourth-tier.

28-year-old Morris, a former England youth international, was a steady performer during his time at Blundell Park. Going about his business in an understated, yet efficient manner, the midfielder, who also joined Grimsby from Burton Albion, provided a calming presence alongside Kieran Green, among others, in Hurst's hardworking engine room.

Like Fox, Morris only spent one season on the East Coast, before moving on to Newport County, and then Harrogate. However, both players tasted success in their relatively brief time in North East Lincolnshire, with their efforts appreciated by Mariners supporters, who'll be all-too-aware of the attributes the duo possess that could cause their side difficulties over the weekend.