Northants Combination League
Premier Division
Tuesday 18th August 2026
Harborough Town Under 21’s (3) – (1) Long Buckby AFC
Report – Jonathan Hulls
Photo – Andy Murdock Photography
Harborough Town U21s produced an impressive second-half comeback to beat Long Buckby AFC 3-1 in a competitive encounter, continuing their positive start to life in the Northants Combination.
The Young Bees started brightly and enjoyed plenty of possession during the opening stages, but it was the visitors who took the lead in the 15th minute. Mackinley Carlton’s deflected effort found the back of the net against the run of play to give Long Buckby the advantage.
Harborough responded positively to falling behind and began to take control of proceedings. The Young Bees dominated possession and increasingly pinned Long Buckby deep inside their own half as they searched for a way back into the contest.
Despite creating opportunities and spending long periods camped inside the visitors’ territory, Harborough were unable to find the breakthrough their play deserved before the interval.
Half-time: Harborough Town U21s 0-1 Long Buckby AFC
The Young Bees started the second half exactly as they had finished the first, on the front foot and looking to turn their possession into goals.
Their pressure finally paid off when Zak Gillespie played right-back Jarred Rawlins through on goal. Rawlins kept his composure when the opportunity arrived, calmly slotting the ball home to bring Harborough level at 1-1 and give the Young Bees a deserved equaliser.
With momentum now firmly behind them, Harborough continued to push forward and soon completed the turnaround with another outstanding team goal.
Archie O’Donnell produced a clever pass to find Gillespie, who showed great awareness to cut the ball back perfectly into the path of Lovell Edwards. Edwards made no mistake from close range, tapping home to put the Young Bees 2-1 ahead and complete the turnaround.
Harborough continued to threaten and their third goal was another moment of quality.
This time Edwards turned provider, threading a clever ball through the Long Buckby defence for Julian Pisau to race onto. Pisau showed excellent composure as the goalkeeper came off his line, expertly lifting the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper to extend Harborough’s advantage to 3-1.
Having turned the contest around after the break, the Young Bees saw out the remainder of the game professionally to secure another positive result and continue their encouraging start to the new campaign.
There was also further positive news for the Young Bees, with Charlie King making his competitive U21s debut following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury, while 16-year-old Yuvi also made his debut.
Head Coach Josh Unsworth said:
“We dominated the game and were very unlucky to go behind, but I loved the mentality the lads showed against a team who sat in a low block all game.
“Very pleased to see Charlie King make his competitive U21s debut after a long time out with an ACL injury, and also 16-year-old Yuvi making his debut.”