Enterprise National League North
Friday 28th August, 2026
Hednesford Town 2 – 1 Harborough Town
(Langston 81’, Abimbola 84’) (Assombalonga 54’)
Report – Christopher Lander
Photo – Rob O’Brien
Man of the Match – Eliot Putman
Attendance – 2,561
Bees suffer first league loss at the hands of Hednesford Town in front of a bumper crowd at Keys Park. Hednesford had to dig deep to turn the game on its head, with two quickfire goals in the last ten minutes to cancel out Britt Assombalonga’s opener.
Manager Mitch Austin kept the same line-up from Saturday’s comeback win over Darlington, with one change on the bench as striker Danny Newton returned to the squad. Under threatening skies, the game kicked off in the immaculate surroundings of Hednesford Town’s Keys Park on a billiard table of a pitch – 96% grass and 4% synthetic for those horticulturists amongst us!
Bees’ defender Alex Morris initially dealt with an early Hednesford corner, but the ball was swung back into the Harborough box towards the back post. Home centre-back Aaron Hayden stretched a leg at the ball under close pressure from Eliot Putman, but his shot on the turn bounced harmlessly wide of Elliott Taylor’s goal. First chance for the Bees was a long throw by George Carline that was allowed to
bounce in the box and was met by the cushioned instep of Eliot Putman, but his goal-bound effort was blocked; the ball came out to Riley O’Sullivan on the edge of the box, who also saw his effort blocked for a corner. Sam Osborne delivered the ball from the corner into the box, and it was met by the rising Carline, who was unable to direct his header goalwards.
Keeping the pressure on the home side in the early stages, Sam Osborne twisted and turned past a defender to loft a cross into the box for Bees Captain Connor Kennedy, whose attempted acrobatic overhead was again dealt with by the home side, putting their bodies on the line to block the effort. Good combination play down the Bees’ left between Britt Assombalonga, Prince Mancinelli and Putman led to Putman sliding a cute ball through to Assombalonga, but the defender was equal to the challenge in holding off Assombalonga, and Sam Hornby in the Hednesford goal was out swiftly to slide and gather the ball.
Hednesford fired a warning shot at the Bees halfway through the first half after a direct central pass through the Harborough middle. Jai Curran-Nicholls evaded the close presence of Mancinelli to slide a ball between Harborough centre-backs Rory McAuley and Alex Morris; however, the damp surface allowed the ball to reach Taylor before Hednesford striker Jamie Cooke.
The first card of the evening was directed at Harborough’s Sam Osborne, who was adjudged to have taken the player before the ball, as he came in with a slightly raised foot to try and nick the ball, which he felt he did – however, the assistant referee was right on the spot to assist the referee in deeming it a card-worthy challenge. The travelling Bees supporters gathered in one corner were in full voice as Mitch Austin’s side upped the intensity, winning a series of corners and long throw opportunities as the half progressed; O’Sullivan was always the menace, twisting this way and that, finding space to fire a shot goalwards that Hornby had to smartly beat away.
Alex Morris, unsurprisingly, found his way out to the left wing and, using his frame to hold off the defender’s attention, whipped in a delightful cross from near the corner flag, which was headed behind for a corner under the intense pressure of fellow centre back McAuley. Both centre-backs were certainly getting their miles in, as McAuley and Morris were often in the thick of the action alongside Assombalonga, albeit bravely dealt with by the Hednesford back line, who were under no illusion that
it would be a bruising Friday night encounter against Austin.
Hednesford came closest to opening the scoring as half-time approached – Bees player of the match Eliot Putman read the situation to perfection, clearing off the line after Will Merry smartly controlled the ball in the box, switching the ball to his left foot and driving a low shot goalwards, but Putman was in the right place at the right time to clear.
After a brief spell of sustained possession from the home side, Putman brought some calm, looping a ball in behind the home defence for the ever-willing Assombalonga to chase. After clearly reaching the ball first, Aaron Hayden launched a sliding challenge, arguably a little out of control near the touchline, scything down Assombalonga right in front of the away dugout, who sensed the challenge was worth more than the yellow card shown by the referee.
Deep into first-half injury time, the Bees pressed down the right, allowing Carline to wind up a trademark long throw. Despite this being cleared, it came back out to Carline, who combined with Riley O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan clipped the ball towards the back post, and somehow it evaded McAuley, Assombalonga, and the Hednesford goalkeeper – as all three ended up in the net, just without the ball.
Manager Austin made one change at the half-time break, bringing on Callum Powell for captain Kennedy, with Taylor taking over the armband for the second 45. The stand-in skipper was almost called into immediate action as the home side pressed down the Bees’ right, Hednesford winger driving a low cross along the 6-yard box that no one could get a touch on, until Carline calmly turned behind for a corner. Another short corner routine led to an offside, and the attack was thwarted, despite protestations from the home bench with the fourth official questioning the offside decision.
Sam Osborne, ever looking to gain a yard and fire a shot goalwards, shifted his body weight as he cut in from the left, but fired his shot over the bar on 51 minutes.
The home side certainly came out for the second half with the bit between their teeth, playing under the lights in front of over 2,500 at Keys Park, with the volume cranking up and both sets of fans exchanging banter. Rather ironically, the opening goal of the evening came just as sections of the home support were questioning who ‘Harborough’ were… Half-time substitute Powell drove down the right, earning his side a corner, which Osborne subsequently delivered right onto the head of Assombalonga to take the lead.
On the hour mark, with the home side pressing, the Bees failed to clear from deep inside their box, and Will Merry seized the opportunity – fortunately, his shot, whilst on target, lacked enough power to beat Taylor, who stuck out a leg to smartly deflect the ball wide. The follow-up was a header on target, but in Taylor’s direction, who gathered at the second attempt under pressure.
The home side came close again to equalising in the 64th minute, as Merry beat Powell to a ball at the edge of the box but dragged his shot narrowly wide of Taylor’s right-hand post. With their tails up, Hednesford were happy to keep the ball, whilst the Bees were restricted to a mix of long-range efforts from Osborne, Powell and Putman.
With several substitutions and now inside the final ten minutes, the Pitmen’s pressure gave way to the equaliser – a free-kick awarded around thirty yards from goal, allowing a whipped ball into the box aimed at the back post. The first Hednesford attacker missed it, but it was nodded goalwards from the byline, past Taylor, and crossed the line as a second Hednesford player arrived to bundle home.
Despite only taking two points from their previous five games, Hednesford did not sit back and, under the lights with a now more vocal crowd, went for the win. Just over two minutes after the equaliser, the ball was turned over from a Bees attack, which led to a two-on-two; the ball was fed to Ahkeem Rose, who ran at Mancinelli and Devon Kelly-Evans. Rose unleashed a left-foot effort from some 25 yards that cannoned off the bar and back towards Kelly-Evans and Hednesford striker David Abimbola. Abimbola managed to bring the ball down, and whilst appearing to shoot to Taylor’s right, the ball went left and into the back of the net.
With time ebbing away, Austin brought on Paul Malone and Dempsey Arlott-John and pushed Rory McAuley up top in search of the equaliser. Second-half substitutes Danny Newton, Powell and Arlott-John had attempts deep into injury time, but could not trouble the Hednesford keeper.
Austin was rightly proud of the efforts of his team, and post-match commented: “You can see what three points mean to most teams, and most managers across the board – very valuable – we have to make sure we are on the right side, L’s are part of the game. You learn so much from losing and have to fight even harder… For nine minutes we can be critical, but let’s not over-analyse it; we’ll try and get more out of us on Monday”
Harborough Town (4-3-3): Taylor; Carline, McAuley, Morris, Putman; Kelly-Evans, Kennedy (Powell 46’), Mancinelli (Malone 87’); Osborne (Newton 75’), Assombalonga (Jacobs 66’), O’Sullivan (Arlott-John 87’). Subs not used: Dolman, Bello.
Hednesford Town: Hornby; Langston, Hayden, Williams (Morgan 77’), Cooke (Abimbola 74’), Gorman (Rose 43’), Mottley-Henry, Kinsella, Cirino (Harper-Bailey 88’), Curran-Nicholls, Merry (Sterling-James 66’). Subs not used: Parke, Sharples
The Bees have little time to lick their wounds as they return to the Beehive to face Marine on bank holiday Monday. Mitch’s boys will look to put the defeat behind them by continuing their 100% home record and capitalising on the extra days’ rest, with the Mariners visiting Harborough 48 hours after they host Radcliffe.
🎟️ | Ticket Purchase Link – Buy Tickets Online Now
Harborough Town Football Club can announce ticketing information for supporters ahead of our Enterprise National League North fixture against Marine FC on Monday 31st August 2026.
Match Ticket Prices
Adults: £18
Concessions (65+): £10
Disabled: £10
Blue Light: £10 – valid Blue Light ID required on entry
Juniors (14–16): £5
Juniors (5–13): £5*
Carers: FREE when purchased with a paying Disabled ticket.
Under 5s: FREE when purchased with a paying Adult/Concession ticket.*
* Please note that all supporters under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
Season Tickets
Harborough Town FC 2026/27 Enterprise National League North Season Tickets, purchased through Fanbase, are valid for this fixture.
Home Supporters
With a busy Bank Holiday crowd expected, supporters are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance through Fanbase.
Advance purchase will help supporters enjoy a quicker and smoother entry into the stadium on matchday.
Following the closure of advance online sales, tickets will also be available to purchase on the gate from 1.30pm, subject to availability.
Away Supporters
Tickets for away supporters are available online only via the Harborough Town FC Fanbase Ticketing Platform.
There will be no away ticket sales on the gate on the day of the match. Any away supporters arriving without a valid advance online ticket will be refused entry.
Away supporters are therefore advised not to travel without first purchasing their ticket online.
Matchday Hospitality
Matchday hospitality is available for our Bank Holiday fixture against Marine in partnership with Everest Lounge.
Hospitality packages are priced from £40 to £55 per person and include:
- Match Ticket & Programme
- Two-Course Meal – Poppadoms, Curry with Naan & Dessert
- Tea & Coffee
- Pre-Match Q&A
- Private Bar throughout the afternoon
- Recommended arrival time: 1.00pm.
Hospitality tickets can be purchased through Fanbase by selecting the Hospitality Ticket option when booking.
Purchase tickets here:
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=20355
Advance online sales will close at 11.00am on Monday 31st August 2026.