Enterprise National League North
Saturday 10th October, 2026
Harborough Town 1 – 0 Southport
(O’Sullivan, 9′)
Report – Ben Monti
Photo – Rob O’Brien
WDR Coaching Man of the Match – Silvio Bello
Attendance – 860
Harborough Town produced a professional performance to see off Southport 1-0 at the Beehive, with Riley O’Sullivan’s early strike proving the difference.
Both sides have struggled to find consistency and their best form so far this season. Southport, who finished in the play-off places last campaign, came into the game without a win on the road. Harborough, meanwhile, enjoyed another memorable afternoon in the FA Cup last weekend and looked to replicate that form in the league.
Britt Assombalonga, Connor Kennedy and Prince Mancinelli had all picked up knocks, joining Rob Morgan and Sam Osborne on the list of absentees. It left the Bees looking a little depleted, particularly in the middle of the park, and provided a test of Mitch Austin’s tactical nous as he was forced to juggle things around. One decision saw young full-back Silvio Bello deployed at the base of midfield alongside Devon Kelly-Evans. It proved a good decision as Bello put in a man-of-the-match performance, with the pair controlling the middle of the park for large spells and limiting Southport’s attacking threat.
The depleted squad also opened the door for some younger faces, with Leighton McWilliams earning a place on the bench alongside new signing Josh Toluwaloju, an exciting young attacking prospect who has joined on loan from Coventry City.
Harborough started strongly, pinning Southport back and winning a flurry of corners as they piled on the pressure. Dempsey Arlott-John, full of confidence after his perfect hat-trick against St Albans City in the FA Cup the previous weekend, caused chaos down the flank. Two minutes in, he drove at Max Davies, forcing a corner, then moments later cut inside from the left and fired over.
The early pressure paid off in the 9th minute, when George Carline launched one of his trademark throws into the box, Alex Morris got his head on it, and the ball bounced awkwardly. No one in a turquoise shirt dealt with it, allowing Riley O’Sullivan, ever the goal threat, to pounce and drill the ball home with his left foot. Southport almost responded immediately. Adam Moseley got the better of Carline down the left before squaring for Ted Lavelle in the box, but his effort was tame, and Elliot Taylor gathered comfortably.
Arlott-John continued to cause problems at the other end, particularly down the right, where Davies was having a difficult afternoon. On 23 minutes, the winger picked up the ball in a pocket of space, spun away from the surrounding Southport shirts and fired wide of the upright. Ten minutes before the interval, Michael Jacobs delivered a wonderful free-kick onto the head of an unmarked O’Sullivan, who somehow flashed his header wide from six yards. Fortunately for Riley, the assistant’s flag was already up, sparing him the embarrassment.
Shortly afterwards, Jacobs unleashed a rocket towards goal, only for the ball to cannon off the arm of Matty Williams. Harborough appealed for a penalty, but Kieran Chell and his assistant decided the offence had taken place just outside the box. Jacobs stepped up and fired the resulting free-kick through the wall, forcing Douglass Lukjanciks to parry away.
Taylor had a scary moment when he mistimed a forward ball from Luke Griffiths, which evaded the Harborough goalkeeper, leaving him in a race with Moseley towards his own goal. The Southport forward got there first but directed his effort into the outside netting of the near post. A let-off for the hosts as they entered the break a goal up.
The first big chance of the second half came when Alex Morris found himself playing centre-forward. His centre-back partner Rory McAuley launched a ball forward; Morris brought it down on his chest, but Lukjanciks got to the second ball first. Arlott-John then tried his luck with an ambitious long-range lob, having spotted the Port’s keeper off his line. The Bees’ winger looked like a man loving his football after his heroics seven days earlier.
Southport introduced Christy Edwards from the bench, and he made an immediate impact. He wrong-footed Morris before picking out Moseley on the left, although the resulting cross lacked conviction. Moments later, Edwards burst down the right to win a corner, with Morris subsequently producing an important block. Despite their effort, the Sandgrounders struggled to get through Harborough. Bello and Kelly-Evans continued to do an excellent job in midfield, and Southport rarely looked likely to find an equaliser.
With 74 minutes played, Eliot Putman won the ball inside the Southport box and did brilliantly to fend off the surrounding defenders before getting a shot away with his weaker right foot. Lukjanciks spread himself well to make an excellent save and keep his side in the game. Just two minutes later, substitute Callum Powell burst into space on the left of the box and fired across goal, his effort going agonisingly wide of the far post. That appeared to be the last real chance of the game, as the Bees remained controlled, seeing out the game to keep the clean sheet.
Speaking after the game, Austin praised his side’s performance, saying, “They’ve done well to grind that out for 90 minutes. The players managed the game really well.” Mitch highlighted the contribution of Bello: “Silvio was definitely man of the match; he came in to play holding midfield and did superbly. That’s the quality we want.”
Harborough Town (4-3-3) Taylor; Carline, McAuley, Morris, Putman; Kelly-Evans, Bello, Walsh; Arlott-John (Toluwaloju 71’), O’Sullivan, Jacobs (Powell 68’). Subs not used: Burgess, Malone, Dolman, O’Donnell, McWilliams.
Southport (4-3-3) Lukjanciks; Minihan, Flowers, Williams, Davies (Dwyer 56’); Lavelle, Perritt (R Griffiths 45’), L Griffiths (Ogwuru 79’); McKenzie (Edwards 61’), Moseley, Slew (Healey 45’). Subs not used: Solomon, Burgess.
After an important victory in the league, the Bees remain at home next weekend for yet another FA Cup tie, and it’s the big one. The Fourth Round Qualifying, with the chance to reach the FA Cup proper for only the second time in the club’s history. Standing in their way are fellow National League North side Spennymoor Town.