Bees Fight Back With A Sting To Claim All 3-Points
23 rd. February 2019
Harborough Town would have felt unlucky coming away with nothing to show for a brilliant
performance against title contenders Rugby Town a week ago, and were looking to show
similar desire this week as they welcomed Eynesbury Rovers. Sitting 7th in the table,
Eynesbury were looking to climb the table, and having already beaten The Bees in the
reverse fixture they would have come into this game with good confidence.
Under the glorious sunshine, The Bees almost got off to the dream start as just 3 minutes in
Harry Henbury picked out Dan Forbes at the front post, unmarked but unable to direct his
header on target. Eynesbury returned the favour with a golden opportunity themselves, and
it looked likely to be a goal had it not been for a brave block by Tony Bartlett; the first signs
of this game being a true end-to-end spectacle. On 18 minutes the first real scare occurred
after Hayden Bream rattled the crossbar with a wonderful free kick effort from 25-yards
out, the ball pinballed around the box with Glen Giles pulling off a remarkable save to
somehow keep the ball out. It was now Harborough’s time to rattle Eynesbury nerves as a
weighted through ball almost found Aaron Preston in acres, but Jamie Greygoose rushed off
his line with pace and bravery to clear well. Just before the half-hour mark, the first goal
finally arrived; Jordan Brown picked the ball up just inside the Harborough box and lashed
an effort across the goal to watch it settle in the far-left corner, giving Eynesbury the
advantage. For all the world it seemed The Bees had found a response just moments later –
the ball was worked well into the box, Preston’s effort was well parried, but with the ball
falling to Callum Milne all that was needed was a tap in – but somehow, he missed it. As the
half came to a close, it was surprising to many that there was only 1 goal in it, with both
teams creating an abundance of good chances – setting viewers up for a thrilling second
half.
The Bees landed the first punch in a half of thrills for the final 45, when Callum Milne netted
the equaliser after a beautiful curled effort from 20-yards out beat Jamie Greygoose in
between the sticks. Milne almost got his brace 5 minutes later, when a strong Dan Forbes
run down the left saw him drag the ball back to Milne at the near post who’s close-range
effort was turned away. For all of Harborough’s hard work, it was dismissed once more on
74 minutes as James Ducket poked home after a corner, giving Eynesbury the lead once
more with just over 20 minutes to spare. The following few minutes saw Jamie Greygoose
tested to the absolute max, with a consistent bombardment of his goal. Aaron Preston took
the first effort firing low from wide, the ball was turned away into the path of the onrushing
Milne who’s effort was somehow stopped again. Not even a minute later Preston had a
second go, again having to watch Greygoose turn the ball away; this time falling to Forbes at
the far post, with Greygoose scrambling across his goal to make another superb save.
Greygoose topped off his manic few minutes with a superb reflex save from a powerful
Forbes volley from 6-yards out following a corner – it seemed as if there would be no way
past him. The Bees continued their high pressure, making multiple attacking substitutions as
Stuart Spencer clearly saw the opportunity. It paid dividends as Aaron Preston flicked home
at the back post after a good cross in on 86 minutes. Having fought back to sharing the
spoils, The Bees wanted more. They continued to press high, and press with intensity –
forcing mistakes on Eyenesbury’s behalf. 5 minutes into stoppage time, a Eynesbury error at
the back saw Callum Milne striding through on goal, he calmly slotted past Jamie Greygoose
for his brace and what would be the winner. The Bees were ecstatic, celebrating as a team
with their manager.
A great turnaround evidencing the mental strength running throughout the team, fighting
back from behind on 2 occasions, and netting the equaliser and winner late on into the
game. Goals were always a given in a fixture of this intensity, and The Bees proved to be the
better side when it came down to it. A brilliant performance topped off by a fantastic win;
thoroughly deserved. Next week The Bees welcome Boston Town to the Harborough Town
Community Football Ground, where they will look to continue this string of brilliant
performances.