Northants Combination League
Premier Division
Saturday 5th September 2026
Harborough Town Under 21’s (2) – (0) Medbourne
Report – Jonathan Hulls
Photo – Andy Murdock Photography
Harborough Town Under 21’s – Alex Fisher, Corey Birch, Charlie King (Jarred Rawlins 20’), Thomas Hoey, James Flint, Archie Woolmer (Shaan Virk 60’), Cyprian Mtenga (Yuvraj Shergill 82’), Leighton McWilliams, Archie O’Donnell, Zak Gillespie (Ollie Price 60’), Lovell Edwards (Julian Pisau 75’).
Harborough Town U21s secured an important three points against fellow title rivals Medbourne following a hard-fought 2–0 victory at home.
The opening 45 minutes proved to be a cagey affair, with both teams fully aware of the importance of the contest at the top end of the table.
Harborough enjoyed the majority of possession during the first half and created the better opportunities, but they were unable to find the breakthrough. A stubborn and well-organised Medbourne defence stood firm, frustrating the Young Bees and ensuring the two sides went into the interval with the score still level.
Half-time: Harborough Town U21’s 0–0 Medbourne
The Young Bees continued to show great patience after the restart, maintaining their dominance of possession and gradually beginning to put the visitors under sustained pressure.
Medbourne’s goalkeeper produced a string of unbelievable saves to deny Archie O’Donnell, Zak Gillespie and Cyprian Mtenga, repeatedly keeping his side in the contest as Harborough pushed for the opening goal.
The breakthrough eventually arrived courtesy of a moment of magic from O’Donnell. Spotting the Medbourne goalkeeper off his line from the halfway line, Archie attempted an audacious long-range effort which left the goalkeeper scrambling back towards his goal.
The goalkeeper managed to keep the initial attempt out, but Lovell Edwards reacted quickest to the rebound. Edwards collected the loose ball before cutting it across the box for Ollie Price, who calmly slotted home to finally give the Young Bees a deserved lead.
Harborough continued to push for a second goal rather than sitting back on their advantage. With Medbourne searching for an equaliser and committing players forward, the Young Bees found the decisive goal in the 88th minute.
Yuvraj Shergill produced a clever ball inside to Julian Pisau, who threaded a perfectly placed pass through to Shaan Virk. Shaan showed great composure to round the goalkeeper before placing the ball into the empty net, sealing a valuable 2–0 victory for Harborough.
It was a patient and professional performance from the Young Bees, who demonstrated great persistence to eventually break down a resilient Medbourne side and secure all three points from an important game at the top end of the table.
Head Coach Josh Unsworth said:
“Today was about the substitutes. Their reaction to come on and change the game, along with the attitude they showed, was unbelievable.
“I was so impressed with the efforts and pleased to get the three points against a good Medbourne team.”