Enterprise National League North
Brackley Town v Harborough Town
Saturday 5th September 2026
Kick-off: 3.00 pm
Venue: St James’ Park
Author – Ben Monti
Image – RB Media
Enterprise National League North football continues this weekend as Harborough Town make the short trip to St James Park to face Brackley Town. It will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides, although they crossed paths in pre-season in 2024, with the Saints running out 2-0 winners courtesy of goals from Dean and Roberts.
There will be a few familiar faces returning to St James Park too, with George Carline, Dempsey Arlott-John and Danny Newton all having previously donned the red and white of the Saints. This time, they’ll arrive in yellow, with the Bees looking for their first win on the road this season.
Brackley find themselves back in the National League North following relegation last season, finishing 21st with ten wins. What followed was a massive summer overhaul, with plenty of players coming and going as the Saints looked to put together a side capable of bouncing straight back. Former Coventry City and Brighton full-back Andy Whing is the man tasked with making that happen. Whing took over at St James Park in February and has since overseen the rebuild, although it hasn’t quite clicked yet. The Saints have registered just one win from their opening five games and, to make matters worse, they’re currently facing a defensive crisis.
Captain and centre-half Kyle Morrison is out for several months, while right-back Kieran Coates still has one game remaining on his suspension. Will Armitage is back from injury but still lacking full match fitness, although Josh Tomlinson does return from suspension. All in all, probably not the defensive selection headache Andy Whing had in mind five games into the season. There are still plenty of players in this Brackley side the Bees will need to keep an eye on, including Vice-captain Charlie Cooper, who sits in the middle of the park. The Birmingham City academy product is a superb leader and provides a pretty handy screen in front of the defence. Up top, Tahvon Campbell will be looking to kick on after bagging a brace against Chorley. The Saints have looked a little leggy at times, perhaps a consequence of the lack of depth following such a big rebuild, but there’s certainly enough quality there to cause Harborough problems.
The Bees, meanwhile, make the one-hour trip to Northamptonshire on something of a high. Paul Malone was the match-winner on Bank Holiday Monday’s win over Marine, popping up with his 36th goal for the club on appearance number 161 to maintain Harborough’s 100% home start. Alex Morris made his 150th appearance for the club last weekend. Morris has been one of the Bees’ standout players throughout August and has barely put a foot wrong so far. Prince Mancinelli continues to impress since his summer arrival. The midfielder earned himself a place in last week’s National League North Team of the Week and has looked increasingly at home in yellow. Another summer signing who seems to have got the memo pretty quickly about what playing for Mitch Austin’s Harborough side involves.
Plenty of little subplots then. Three former Saints returning to St James Park, Brackley still trying to piece together a new-look side and Harborough searching for that first away win. The last meeting went Brackley’s way, but that was a pre-season afternoon two years ago. A fair bit has happened since then.
Match Tickets
Supporters are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets online in advance.
Advance tickets are cheaper than those purchased from the ticket office on matchday and will help reduce queues on arrival.
The matchday ticket office will open at 1.00pm and close 15 minutes after kick-off.
– Adults – £18 Advance / £20 Gate
– Concessions – £13 Advance / £15 Gate
– Under 18’s – £8 Advance / £10 Gate
– Under 16’s – FREE
– Under 14’s – FREE with a Full Paying Adult
Concessionary admission applies to supporters aged 65 and over, students, NHS staff, police, fire service personnel and members of the Armed Forces.
All supporters aged under 16 will still require a match ticket, despite admission being free.
Children aged under 14 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
As this is a segregated fixture, Bees supporters must select an away ticket when booking.
🎟️ | Purchase Match Tickets – https://shorturl.at/kPacF
Supporters’ Travel
Official Bees Supporters’ Travel, in association with Fleckers Coaches, is available for the trip to Brackley.
🚌 | Return fare: £15.00
Further information and booking details can be found here:
https://beessupporters.co.uk/fixtures/brackley-town