Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 1st August 2026
Peterborough Sports 2-2 Harborough Town
Report – Ben Monti
Photo – Rob O’Brien
Harborough Town capped off their series of pre-season fixtures with an intense 2-2 draw against Peterborough Sports at PIMS Park. Goals from Sam Osborne and Rory McAuley put the Bees two up before the Turbines fought back to level the game in what proved to be the perfect final test going into the new season.
The two sides met for the first time since their FA Cup Third Round Qualifying match at the Beehive last season, when Phil Brown was at the Turbines’ helm. The Bees went into that game as underdogs, a division below; however, an emphatic performance saw Harborough book their place in the next round, having thrashed their visitors 4-1. Much has changed since then, with Graham Drury taking the reins at PIMS Park and both sides literally swapping places as the Bees prepare for life in National League North and Sports look to bounce back immediately in the Southern League Premier Central.
The game was played at a high intensity from the get-go, with the Bees playing at a higher tempo than they had previously in pre-season. Both sides had half chances, with Harvey Williams bursting down the right before picking out Leon Lobjoit, whose lofted effort went over. At the other end, an Eliot Putman in-swinging corner looked to have found the head of George Carline at the back post; however, teammate Rory McAuley couldn’t control his header as he jumped in at the last minute, taking the ball away from Carline’s path.
Harborough soon began to show real glimpses of the quality they possess, producing some excellent passages of play with Prince Mancinelli shining at the base of midfield, pulling the strings and dictating the tempo. A quarter of an hour in, Callum Powell skipped past Connor Wood before delivering a beauty to the back post for Putman to nod down to Riley O’Sullivan, who would have buried the chance 99 times out of 100. On this occasion, though, he directed his effort straight at goalkeeper Thomas Jackson. Moments later, O’Sullivan used his strength superbly to hold the ball up before laying it off for Sam Osborne to cut inside onto his right foot and drill his effort through the Turbines’ defence and beyond Jackson to put the Bees ahead on 17 minutes.
Two minutes after going ahead, the Bees won a free kick around the halfway line. Devon Kelly-Evans stepped up and floated an exquisite ball to Carline, who, unmarked, guided it towards Rory McAuley. Having got the right side of Harry Vince, McAuley was free to poke home and double Harborough’s lead.
The Turbines, undeterred by going two behind, still felt very much in the game as they pushed men forward. Williams blasted just wide of the upright before Lobjoit escaped the offside trap. With the Harborough back line frozen, seemingly expecting the offside flag, the forward chipped Elliot Taylor to pull one back.
Osborne almost restored the Bees’ two-goal advantage after winning the ball back off Ben Hart, but couldn’t keep his effort on target. O’Sullivan then hit the outside of the net after being slipped in by Connor Kennedy as Harborough continued to look the more likely side. However, there was still time for one last Peterborough attack, minutes before the break, when a Carl Mensah clearance sent Williams away on the counter, but Lobjoit’s ambitious overhead kick brought an entertaining first half to a close.
The Bees started the second half brightly once again, with David Staff introducing Britt Assombalonga at the break. It didn’t take long for the new signing to threaten, Osborne almost picking him out with a delightful dink, only for the assistant’s flag to go up. O’Sullivan then did brilliantly to keep an overhit Kennedy pass alive before testing Jackson from the tightest of angles, while Mancinelli continued to pull the strings, clipping another lovely ball through for Kennedy, who couldn’t keep his effort down.
With both sides making a whole host of changes, the game lost a little of the intensity that had made the first half such an entertaining watch. However, Peterborough continued to push for the equaliser. Ben Beresford first headed over when he really should have done better before Williams, who looked dangerous all afternoon, skipped past Alex Morris and squared for the forward to tap home the equaliser.
Harborough still had chances of their own. Arlott-John made an immediate impact after coming on, shrugging off Jordan Cooke before squaring what looked a certain tap-in for Assombalonga, only for Jackson to react quickly and intercept. Michael Richens thought he’d won it for the hosts with a rocket, but the Harborough defence threw bodies in the way to make the block. Right at the death, Kelly-Evans burst clear on the counter and looked set to race away before Richens cynically brought him down, earning a yellow card to keep the scores level as the full-time whistle blew.
With pre-season now firmly in the rear view, all eyes turn to King’s Lynn next Saturday, the 8th of August, where the Bees will travel to Norfolk to kick-off their Step 2 campaign before returning to the Beehive on the 15th to host Morecambe in a blockbuster affair.