GCE Hire Fleet United Counties Football League
Reserve Division
Saturday 25th October 2025
St Ives Town Reserves 2-4 Harborough Town Under 21’s
Report – Josh Unsworth
Photo – Phil Passingham
The young Bees travelled to St Ives, who had been unbeaten in their last two games, looking to return to winning form.
The visitors started brightly, producing a superb passage of play early on. Zak Gillespie struck the post before Cyprian Mtenga reacted quickest to tap in the rebound in the 20th minute. The Bees doubled their lead when Coen Hughes’ towering header found the net from a delicious Archie O’Donnell corner in the 36th minute.
The U21s picked up where they left off after the break, as Bakari Furbert danced through the St Ives defence before being brought down in the penalty area. O’Donnell stepped up to convert from the spot and make it 0–3. Gillespie then broke clear of a high St Ives defensive line and slotted home coolly to extend the lead to 0–4.
St Ives mounted a late fightback with two set-piece goals against the run of play, but the young Bees held firm to secure a 2–4 victory.
After the game, Head Coach Josh Unsworth said, “We were superb today in my opinion. We worked really hard during the week, especially on our counter press and how to play against a team with a low block, and we executed it well”.
The U21s are back in action this Saturday, 1st November, as they travel to face Community Football Academy FC in the Leicestershire Intermediate County Cup.