Enterprise National League North
Saturday 8th August 2026
King’s Lynn Town 1-1 Harborough Town
(Nwabueze 55′) (O’Sullivan 13′)
Report – Chris Lander
Photo – RB Media
Harborough Town’s National League North campaign got up and running at The Walks, where the Bees battled their way to a hard-fought point courtesy of a Riley O’Sullivan volley before King’s Lynn Town levelled through Jesse Nwabueze in the second half.
Making club history, Harborough Town kicked off their first-ever match at step 2 of the National League footballing pyramid on a very warm and muggy Saturday afternoon in Norfolk. Manager Mitch Austin gave competitive debuts to summer signings midfielder Prince Mancinelli and tricky wingers Sam Osborne and Callum Powell, whilst the remaining eight of the starting line-up were from the core of last season’s title-winning team.
The game was less than two minutes old when the home side fashioned a chance through their new signing Jesse Nwabueze, curling a right-foot cross towards the box that Tom Scott flicked with the faintest touch, and the ball bounced off the base of the far post; the follow-up shot was fortunately blazed over. The Bees took that parting shot from the hosts and countered with a controlled series of measured corners and throws which the home side often struggled to deal with, regularly clearing from deep inside their own box.
The Bees had to be alert as Nwabueze led a quick break before firing a powerful shot straight at Elliott Taylor in the Harborough goal, but Taylor was equal to the task, beating the chance away. These opening minutes were the precursor to an end-to-end game as the Bees’ confidence grew knowing the defence had the experience and vocality of former King’s Lynn Town player Rory McAuley at the back alongside Alex Morris.
After 11 minutes, the clearest opportunity for the visitors came as Riley O’Sullivan held off his marker to whip a cross into the box that found Powell in space in the six-yard box; however, Powell’s cushioned left-foot shot was cleared off the line by the recovering home defender. This added more belief to the Bees, who started to pass the ball around nicely, with Mancinelli creating space and time to combine with left-back Eliot Putman and his midfield teammates, as the home side’s support had started to quieten down.
A few minutes later, O’Sullivan wrote his name into Harborough Town folklore! The ball was moved from right to left at the back with an advanced ball finding Sam Osborne in a tight pocket of space, who smartly turned and lofted a ball behind the home defence for the advancing Connor Kennedy. Kennedy showed more commitment than the defenders around him, charging towards the bouncing ball as the keeper came out; Kennedy lifted the ball high over the keeper, continuing his run to get his head first to the ball, directing it at the oncoming O’Sullivan, who gave the defenders on the line no chance with a rifled left-foot volley. This felt no more than the pressure and confidence of the visitors deserved and very much to the delight of the Harborough Town travelling support.
As the half wore on, it was still the Bees applying the pressure, whilst the home side may have impressed with their regular off-the-ball running and full-backs switching with wingers at regular intervals, the Bees stood firm, taking it all in their stride, as a wayward shot from a Linnets striker was all that was mustered.
Long-range efforts from the Bees midfield were threatening, albeit just a little too high or wide of the goal. However, for Kennedy and Mancinelli, they thrived in a competitive midfield against Football League-experienced opposition, and with the defensively controlled Devon Kelly-Evans happy to mop up and distribute the ball to kickstart the build-up play. George Carline was collecting his frequent-flyer points, advancing up and down the right, putting in some serious mileage, and creating chances for the league’s new boys.
At the heart of many a chance, it was Carline who picked up the first yellow of the new campaign with a slow-motion tackle on Nwabueze, which felt soft. Still, Carline’s response was to keep charging forward, creating more opportunities for this team, first earning a throw deep inside home territory that he took himself, which caused home-side uncertainty. As the ball found its way back out to Carline, he whipped a cross towards the advanced centre back McAuley, whose header found Callum Powell alone on the edge of the six-yard box. Whilst Powell met the ball sweetly on the volley, his lashed goalbound effort was equally as impressively tipped over by the keeper.
With a few minutes of the half left, Osborne showed unbridled commitment to the cause as his lung-busting defensive run from his attack position to block a chance on the edge of the Harborough box was vital to keeping the Bees’ half-time lead intact, as the home supporters started to voice disgruntlement directed more at Harborough’s determination than anything else.
No changes at the break from either manager saw the second half start with more pressure from the Bees, as Powell took on his marker high on the right to whip a cross into the box, which Mancinelli’s effort was blocked at the near post. From the resulting corner, full back Eliot Putman delivered another dangerous ball right under the Linnets crossbar, which the keeper tipped over as the message was clear to keep applying that pressure.
Alex Morris and Carline combined in this early period that saw Powell with two chances in quick succession, the first blocked and the second just kept rising as the home side allowed Powell the time and space to hit his effort with great technique on the volley.
The home side levelled on 55 minutes after a debatably awarded free kick in the middle of the park, as two players battled shoulder to shoulder, was given in King’s Lynn’s favour. The full-time Linnets had obviously worked on a free-kick routine as the ball was calmly played into space in the box, and Nwabueze reacted quickest to fire a right-foot shot high into the roof of the net that gave Taylor no chance.
Undeterred, the Bees responded almost immediately with Osborne whipping a delightful back-stick cross to the lunging Kennedy, who seemed to be the only person reacting, and his prodded effort was well turned away by Ronnie Hollinshead in the Lynn goal.
The game continued to swing back and forth, with the Bees enjoying opportunities with confident running with the ball at their feet of Powell and Mancinelli. No match report is complete without a Marauding Mozza (registered trademark) run down the left, with defenders being shrugged off at will, and this game was no different, with Morris enjoying a couple of runs that earned his side more opportunities to deliver the ball into the box. Osborne and McAuley had off-target efforts, whilst Putman’s goal-bound shot was deflected wide for another corner as the half developed.
The Harborough post was struck again halfway through the second half with an acrobatic effort as the home side pressed for a winner, but again the Bees countered with great assured interplay, enjoying some good spells with the ball that pleased the away dugout.
Both managers made changes as the half wore on, with first Josh Walsh and then Britt Assambalonga coming on for his competitive debut. The home side made their changes, bringing on AFC Wimbledon loanee Ed Leach, who impressed in the short time he had, creating a chance that Taylor was almost caught out from, but Taylor just did enough to put off the striker, and then substitute Walsh blocked another chance.
At the other end of the pitch, magic footwork from Assombalonga created himself a pocket of space, and with defenders closing in, his curled effort just wouldn’t come down quick enough as it dipped just past the corner of the bar and post. Both teams certainly went looking for the winner as the game continued end to end, and Taylor was quick to react with a smart save as the fourth official indicated five added minutes with both teams defending resolutely.
The final whistle blew to applause from both sets of supporters in an entertaining match that, from the home support, gave hope after their last-day escape from relegation at the end of last season, and for the league’s new boys a very solid performance that received nods of approval from the locals. As is customary, the boys from the beehive received the rightful praise of the travelling support, shaking hands with the ever-vocal supporters, and having an on-pitch debrief from manager Austin, who was sat on the water coolbox looking very Bielsa-esque!
Speaking after the game, Austin said he was “really proud” of his players, describing a point away at “an illustrious club” such as King’s Lynn as “no mean feat”. The Harborough boss also praised his summer additions, believing they “looked class”, and felt the Bees had “come out of that with loads of pluses”.
The boys have a week to rest, recover and get themselves ready for the imposing visit of Morecambe to the Beehive, as Harborough’s home campaign in the National League North kicks off in some style.
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Supporters are advised to purchase their tickets in advance to guarantee admission.
We look forward to seeing a packed Harborough Town Community Stadium as the Bees host Morecambe in our first-ever home Enterprise National League North fixture.
Purchase tickets here:
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=20353
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