Pitching In Southern League Premier Central
Saturday 7th March 2026
Harborough Town 1-0 Worcester City
Pennant (23′)
Player of the Match – Terell Pennant
Attendance – 735
Report – Ben Monti
Photo – Frame The Game Media
Harborough Town bounced back from their midweek defeat at Banbury with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over play-off chasing Worcester City, closing the gap at the top of the table to just one point.
Mitch Austin’s men knew they were in for a battle, with The Blues unbeaten in five, having won their last three. Austin made changes to the side that lost on Tuesday, handing Adil Nabi his first start and home debut on his second appearance for the club. The Bees were forced to dig deep after losing Riley O’Sullivan and Alex Morris to injury in the first half, but Terell Pennant’s strike midway through the opening period proved enough to separate the sides.
In an evenly contested game, Harborough established control of the midfield through the immense Devon Kelly-Evans, who covered every blade of grass, making key interceptions and linking play superbly. Early Harborough pressure produced a couple of half chances. Josh Walsh saw a shot from the edge of the box comfortably gathered by Samuel Kane, while set-piece deliveries tested the Worcester defence. The away side warned the hosts of their potential threat when Harry Burns released Josh Ezewele down the right wing. The full-back fizzed an inviting ball across goal, but Chris Cornes’ men failed to pounce.
The loss last week of David Kamara and Dempsey Arlott-John to a loan recall and injury respectively, forced Harborough to dip into the market for a replacement forward. The home crowd, excited to see new signing John Shamalo, would have preferred his introduction to be under different circumstances, with top goalscorer Riley O’Sullivan dropping to the ground and signalling his need to come off 20 minutes into the tie.
Despite, O’Sullivan’s departure, the deadlock was broken on 23 minutes when Kelly-Evans launched the ball into the box, where it fell kindly for Pennant. The winger showed great composure to place his effort past Kane at his near post to open his account for the Bees. The goal was nothing less than the winger deserved for his lively, impactful performance. Austin praised Pennant after the game, stating: “TP won us the game today. He was fantastic. So direct, so energetic.”
Worcester almost responded immediately to Pennant’s opener when Matthew Richards looked set to level from a Burns throw in deep in the Harborough half, only for Elliot Taylor to pull off a stunning reflex save to palm the ball over the bar. Taylor’s moment of magic was a genuine save of the season contender. Just before the half-hour mark, the Bees’ injury woes continued with Rory McAuley coming on to replace the imperious Alex Morris at centre half. Liam Dolman along with new boys Nabi and Shamalo all had chances before the interval. Dolman and Nabi both curled efforts from the edge of the box whiskers wide of the upright.
The visitors grew into the game after half-time and began to apply pressure. Dan Sweeney forced another strong stop from Taylor with a powerful effort inside the box. At the other end, the marauding McAuley almost doubled the lead via a courageous flying header from a Ben Stephens delivery, but couldn’t quite connect.
The Blues will feel as though they should have equalised when a floated ball into the box found Charlie Lutz, who, unmarked, flashed his header agonisingly wide. Referee Jamie Conde had a distinctly average performance, making multiple poor decisions, culminating when he failed to brandish a second yellow card for Burns’ overzealous challenge on Pennant 15 minutes from time, audibly frustrating the home crowd.
Deep in stoppage time, Harborough hearts were in their mouths as Sweeney drilled a dangerous ball across the face of goal, but there was no one there to apply the tap in. The attack resulted in a last-minute corner. The visitors, willing to throw the kitchen sink at it, sent keeper Kane up to join his teammates in crowding the Harborough area. Taylor punched the whipped delivery clear to huge cheers from the Beehive faithful.
Moments later, the referee blew his whistle to rapturous applause as the hosts secured three vital points, capitalising on Spalding United’s dropped points away at Needham Market. Austin also praised the character of his squad, adding: “We’ve got a good group of men here, not just players. They’ve got something about them.”
The games keep coming thick and fast, with Austin’s men back in action on Tuesday away at Bishop’s Stortford with the opportunity to go top. Harborough then return home on the 14th to host Real Bedford in front of their Iberian fan club as the Spanish Bees swarm the hive.