Northants Combination League
Premier Division
Saturday 29th August 2026
Harborough Town Under 21’s (3) – (0) Thrapston Venturas
Report – Jonathan Hulls
Photo – Andy Murdock Photography
Harborough Town Under 21’s – Alex Fisher, Corey Birch, Charlie King, Thomas Hoey, James Flint (Miron Szymanski 82’), Cyprian Mtenga (Rian Varghese 70’), Leighton McWilliams, Archie O’Donnell, Oliver Price (Gui Rodrigues 75’), Shaan Virk (Archie Woolmer 68’), Julian Pisau (Chulu Johnson 55’)
Harborough Town U21s continued their positive start to the season with a convincing 3–0 victory over a well-organised Thrapston Venturas side.
The Young Bees controlled possession throughout the opening half and created several clear-cut opportunities as they looked to establish an early advantage.
However, the hosts were repeatedly frustrated by a combination of excellent Thrapston defending and missed chances in front of goal. Despite dominating much of the play and continuing to apply pressure, Harborough were unable to find the breakthrough before the interval.
Half-time: Harborough Town U21s 0–0 Thrapston Venturas
Harborough maintained their control after the restart and eventually made their possession count in the 63rd minute.
Archie O’Donnell collected the ball around 30 yards from goal before unleashing a superb strike which whizzed into the bottom corner, giving the Thrapston goalkeeper no chance and handing the Young Bees a deserved lead.
O’Donnell then doubled both his tally and Harborough’s advantage in the 80th minute. Chulu Johnson produced an inch-perfect through ball which split the Thrapston defence and sent O’Donnell through on goal.
The forward kept his composure and calmly slotted the ball beyond the goalkeeper to make it 2–0.
With Thrapston pushing forward in search of a way back into the contest, Harborough took advantage of the additional space and added a third goal in the 87th minute.
Corey Birch picked out a superb 40-yard diagonal pass which found Gui Rodrigues in space. Rodrigues raced through on goal before calmly placing his finish beyond the goalkeeper to round off an impressive victory for the Young Bees.
Head Coach Josh Unsworth said:
“I was so impressed with the lads today. It was a proper shift, and they found ways to wear Thrapston down.
“I’m really pleased for Ollie Price, who started and played incredibly well. I’m also pleased for Gui, coming into the U21s for the first time this season and scoring too.”