Devastating Harborough Respond To Critics With 4-0 Win
6th October 2018
Harborough Town were looking to respond to their shocking display against Wellingborough Whitworths a week ago; a display and result that caused confidence to plummet in both players and fans alike. Not wanting to continue on a slippery slope to the bottom end of the table, a strong performance for The Bees here against Kirby Muxloe would allow them to move on from last week’s game and restart some good form. Kirby Muxloe were also in need of a strong performance after only having won twice this season, both of which had come in the previous 3 games, so a good run was already forming for them.
Harborough answer to the defeat last week and critics of their performance (not least the Whitworhts match report) and got the opener within 4 minutes; high pressure won The Bees a throw in down the right which found Aaron Preston, who held off his man well before setting up Harry May to fizz in a cross and Daniel Forbes got the touch that sent it into the roof of the net. It could have been 2-0 by the 7th minute, when Harry May floated in a free kick from deep, Ben Williams reached but couldn’t hit the target. Harborough confidence was visibly growing as Callum Steer fired an effort from long range, it moved in the air but was a comfortable save in the end. The Harborough assault continued as Daniel Forbes skipped past his man and curled in a low cross with the outside of his boot, Aaron Preston got to it first, but his effort was just wide. Another long-range effort, this time from Callum Traynor, caused panic as Joseph Horre spilled it into the path of Aaron Preston but he could make nothing of it at such a tight angle. At 16 minutes it seemed as if Harborough’s dominance would reap them a second, as Daniel Forbes sent Aaron Preston through on goal after timing his run perfectly; 1-on-1 with the keeper he decided to take it round him, but by the time Preston got his shot away a Kirby Muxloe defender had tracked back well to clear off the line. Alex Morris’s pace was causing havoc yet again, as it has these past few weeks, and he was brought down in a dangerous position around 25-yards out, but Harry May’s free kick would come to nothing. Even when Kirby Muxloe had a sniff at a chance to attack the Harborough defence stepped up; as seen when Captain Ben Williams read their play and intercepted what was looking to be a teasing through ball. At the half-hour mark, Morris capably took on his man and got to the by-line, he cut back and fired an effort, but after pinballing off multiple players it rolled out for a corner which came to nothing. Aaron Preston awed the crowd when he brought down a long ball backing into his marker, before flicking it round him, spinning away and drilling a sublime switch ball around the Kirby Muxloe backline and finding Alex Morris who cut back to lay-off Callum Steer who’s effort was poor. In the 43rd minute, after continued pressure, chances and a controlling demeanour, Harborough got their second; Fin Gray floated in a free kick and Callum Traynor rose highest at the back post to head home – it was a long time in coming but thoroughly deserved. The Bees then topped off a quality first-half performance with a third, when Alex Morris smashed home from close range after some fantastic hold-up play by Aaron Preson in the Kirby Muxloe box.
Harborough started the second half as strongly as they finished the first, a quick counter saw Alex Morris dictating play and knocking a ball through to Aaron Preston who’s quick feet took him round one man, making some space, but his effort dragged just wide. Forbes was looking for his second when Tony Bartlett put in an early cross, he had time to chest down but he couldn’t get the power behind the shot to really test the keeper. In the last 20 minutes, Kirby Muxloe stepped up and created a few chances, one of which was acrobatically stopped thanks to Glen Giles’s brilliant reflexes. Kirby Muxloe then won themselves a penalty as Ben Williams was called out for a handball; it looked as if the clean sheet wouldn’t be there come 90 minutes, but Giles guessed correctly and got a strong hand behind it, his parry returned the ball into the mixer, but the rebound effort was wide. At the other end, it was Joseph Horre’s turn to show his acrobatic ability when a floated in free kick was powerfully headed by Williams but it was tipped around the post brilliantly. As the game was coming to a close, Aaron Preston finally got his hard-earned goal; a long ball from Bartlett was well controlled via his chest, before a clinical effort into the bottom left corner far out of the reach of Horre.
This performance was completely paradoxical to last week’s defeat at Whitworths, Harborough were everything they weren’t then: exciting, accurate and confident. It exemplified the quality of this Harborough team, quality that we’ve seen before and know can be produced; but a quality that hasn’t been on show consistently. If Harborough can learn to consistently produce that kind of performance, no matter the opponent, there is no denying that The Bees would be right up there challenging at the top of the table. With no league game next week, Harborough will want to focus on all the positives from this game and continue to grow as a team and in terms of confidence ready for their travels to Peterborough Northern Star on the 20th.