Emirates FA Cup 3rd Round Qualifying
Saturday 3rd October, 2026
Harborough Town 3 – 2 St Albans City
(Arlott-John, 84’, 90+8’, 90+11’) (Faulkner 45+1’, Effiong 90+10’)
Report – Ben Monti
Photo – RB Media
Man of the Match – Dempsey Arlott-John
Attendance – 1092
Harborough Town produced another quite ridiculous chapter in their recent FA Cup story, coming from behind before Dempsey Arlott-John completed a remarkable hat-trick in the 101st minute to beat St Albans City 3-2. The Bees are into the Fourth Round Qualifying for the third successive season.
The game began slowly, with the boys in yellow slightly edging control and possession in the opening minutes, although neither side could really get going. Michael Jacobs tried to slip Britt Assombalonga through early on, while Riley O’Sullivan used his strength to get the better of Remi Sutton but couldn’t quite bring the ball under control.
The Bees were dealt an unwanted blow early on when Assombalonga went down after 15 minutes and couldn’t continue, with Callum Powell replacing him. The substitute was immediately involved, driving down the left before cutting onto his right and firing comfortably into the hands of Sam Donkin.
Harborough continued to see more of the ball, but chances were few and far between. Prince Mancinelli produced a clever flick to release Silvio Bello, eventually resulting in Powell delivering into the box before the ball found its way back to Mancinelli, whose tame effort failed to trouble Donkin. At the other end, Inih Effiong’s shot on the turn landed closer to the corner flag than Elliot Taylor’s goal, summing up the opening 40 minutes.
As the game entered the last few minutes of the first half, the Saints had a spell of dominance. Jack James burst down the right before cutting the ball back to Ollie Knight, completely unmarked in the middle, but the winger couldn’t get his feet right, as the ball crept away from his grasp. Moments later, Mikey Faulkner showed great vision to release the overlapping Kai Brown, whose effort was blocked by Bello.
The warning signs were suddenly there, and in first-half stoppage time, the away side drew first blood, stunning the Beehive. A Beehive that already felt somewhat subdued and lacked its usual voice. Despite the game having 0-0 written all over it, as we headed towards the break, Brown dispossessed Powell on the touchline, and quickly spotted a massive gap left in the Harborough half. The winger curled a delightful ball with the outside of his boot into the path of Faulkner, who had acres of space. With Effiong available to his right and Rory McAuley caught two-against-one, Faulkner opted to go alone, calmly placing beyond Taylor to make it 1-0.
The half-time scoreline felt like a smash and grab; however, the Bees could not complain, as their first-half performance longed for a bit of guile and invention, with the hosts seemingly devoid of ideas. Harborough started brighter in the second half, with O’Sullivan testing Donkin twice. George Carline’s long throw then caused chaos inside the box, with the Bees appealing for handball only for referee George Warren to award the free-kick the other way. The home side continued to huff and puff as Jacobs fizzed a superb ball across the face of goal, but Saints skipper James desperately intervened before Powell could apply the finish. The familiar story of struggling to convert chances was all too prevalent as the half progressed.
At the other end, Faulkner unleashed a rocket from the edge of the box, forcing Taylor to tip over, before Zak Sowden-Fletcher blasted wide and Knight narrowly missed from distance.
Mitch Austin introduced multiple changes as he rolled the dice, hoping to keep Harborough in the tie and keep the FA Cup journey from coming to a premature end. One of the fresh faces, Dempsey Arlott-John looked lively, curling a cross onto the head of Malone, who couldn’t keep his effort down, before McAuley attempted an ambitious overhead kick. One day the centre-half, for all his acrobatics, will likely score the best goal the Beehive has ever seen.
St Albans soaked up the pressure as they looked to see the game out, perhaps even nicking a second on the counter with Harborough leaving fewer and fewer men back. The Bees’ persistence, however, finally paid off in the 84th minute. Arlott-John collected the ball towards the corner of the box, shifted onto his left foot and drilled low into the far corner. A goal almost from nothing breathed much-needed hope and enthusiasm back into the ground.
That said, the visitors looked set to put the kibosh on the newfound optimism and progress in the competition when they nearly snatched it in stoppage time. Effiong drove forward on the break with Knight alongside him, creating a dangerous two-against-one before releasing his teammate. Knight looked destined to score, but Taylor produced an outstanding save, then made another moments later to somehow keep Harborough alive. The home fans, spoilt for iconic moments in the cup, sensed another magical one was on its way. Although I don’t think they quite knew what the following five minutes had in store.
Two minutes later, in the 98th minute, the final originally indicated minute of stoppage time, the Beehive erupted. Eliot Putman’s corner travelled towards the far post, where Malone headed it back into the danger zone. Arlott-John came flying through a crowd of bodies to head home. Pandemonium.
Incredibly, the drama was nowhere near finished. Two minutes later, chaos inside the Harborough box allowed Effiong to capitalise, making it 2-2 and seemingly earning the Saints a replay. The Hertfordshire side, wheeled away in joy, as players dived into their euphoric travelling support. Stunned was not the word. Everywhere you looked around the ground, bottom jaws were firmly rooted to the floor.
Referee Warren allowed the Bees to take the kick-off in the 101st minute as a formality. Jacobs launched the ball forward, which was routinely headed clear, while Warren looked poised to blow his whistle. Arlott-John, possessed, chased down the loose ball, chested it forward and put his laces through it; unbelievably, the ball looped over Donkin and into the back of the net, completing the perfect hat-trick and sending the stadium into bedlam once more. The 1,092 in attendance could not compute what they had just witnessed. Not only is the magic of the FA Cup very much alive, but the beautiful game remains a conduit for an emotional rollercoaster like no other.
After the game, Austin shared the sentiment, saying, “The fans deserve that. That was brilliant, that’s what football is about,” before praising his hat-trick hero: “He won us the game, he put us into the next round.”
Harborough Town (4-3-3) Taylor; Carline, McAuley, Morris, Bello; Kelly-Evans (Malone 73’), Mancinelli (Putman 79’), Walsh (Arlott-John 66’); Jacobs, Assombalonga (Powell 15’), O’Sullivan. Subs not used: Burgess, Dolman, O’Donnell.
St Albans City (4-3-3) Donkin; James, Musonda, Sutton, Sowden-Fletcher; Gray, Moulton (Akinyimika 52’), Faulkner (Page 83’); Brown (Ayolie 79’), Effiong, Knight. Subs not used: Frydynski, S Turner, Baker, D Turner.
The Bees remain at the hive next Saturday, 10th of October, when they host Southport FC, as Austin and co will hope the FA Cup victory proves to be the catalyst that galvanises them and changes their fortunes in the league.