Leicestershire County Football League
Turner Insurance Services Premiership
Saturday 20th December 2025
Leicester Athletico Reserves (1) – (7) Harborough Town Spencers
Player of the Match – Joe Brown
Report – Tony Sansome
Harborough Town Spencers produced a ruthless attacking display to sweep aside Leicester Athletico Reserves 7–1, delivering a statement performance against third-placed opposition despite several key players missing.
The visitors made a blistering start, racing into a three-goal lead inside the opening ten minutes. The breakthrough arrived after just two minutes when a short corner from Sam Aldridge was worked to Joe Brown, who delivered the perfect pass into the path of Barrett Akpotor. The defender showed great composure to stroke the ball home and set the tone for the afternoon.
Barely a minute later, the lead was doubled. Reece Mutebi powered his way through a series of challenges before poking the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 2–0. Harborough showed no sign of slowing down, and moments later it was 3–0 as Joe Brown caught the keeper off his line, lifting a clever cross-cum-shot into the net.
The game settled briefly after the frantic opening, but Harborough continued to dominate possession and territory. Their fourth goal arrived on 37 minutes following an excellent team move, with Mutebi providing the pass for Brown to finish clinically and extend the advantage.
Spencers nearly made it five before the interval, but Hubert Witkowski saw his penalty saved by the home goalkeeper, leaving the score at 4–0 at the break.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Harborough continuing to create chances. Theo Gyamfi, Sam Aldridge and Mutebi all went close as the visitors pushed for more goals. The fifth finally arrived on 65 minutes when Akpotor stepped up to smash a direct free kick home with an unstoppable effort.
Five minutes later, Akpotor turned provider, setting up substitute Chinonso Emekekwue to finish well for the sixth. Emekekwue added another shortly after, capitalising on good work from Aldridge to make it 7–0.
Leicester Athletico grabbed a late consolation when a shot was not held by Avwerosuo Emekeme in goal, but it did little to detract from a dominant Harborough performance.
It was a fantastic display against strong opposition, underlining the growing depth and quality within the squad. Joe Brown was named Man of the Match, with honourable mentions for Akpotor and Max Aldridge — though in truth, several players could have taken the award.