Leicestershire & Rutland FA Cooks Midlands Saturday Intermediate Cup
Saturday 4th October 2025
Harborough Town Spencers 2-1 Ambleside Athletic
Report – Tony Sansome
Photo – Phil Passingham
This turned into a tight County Cup tie, though for the first 70 minutes it was largely one-way traffic. Playing against the wind in the first half, Spencers produced some good football and created a number of chances that went begging. Sam Aldridge and Isaac Carter both went close, skipper Taras Petranyuk struck the crossbar, and Kieron Perkins had a goal disallowed for offside. There were a few nervy moments at the other end — mostly from individual errors — but the sides went in goalless at half-time.
The pattern continued early in the second half, with Spencers remaining dominant. Hubert Witkowski saw a close-range effort well saved before the breakthrough finally arrived. A fantastic free-kick delivery from Harry Naylor was met bravely by Aldridge, who threw himself at the ball as it came through a crowd of bodies and guided it into the back of the net.
Just five minutes later it was 2–0 thanks to more excellent work down the left from Witkowski, whose inviting cross was turned home by substitute Darryll Palehmbi. At that point, with 65 minutes gone, it looked as though the game was safe — but the opposition struck back on 70 minutes with a counter-attack to make it 2–1.
From there, Spencers struggled to manage the game. The team dropped too deep, became a little panicky, and invited pressure. The visitors threw everything forward, and Spencers conceded a few dangerous free-kicks around the box, but to their credit they limited clear-cut chances. In fact, the best opportunity in the closing stages fell to Reece Mutebi, who worked himself into a great position only to be denied by an excellent save from the goalkeeper.
Despite a nervy final 20 minutes, the team felt they deserved the win over the full 90 — and there was no doubt they had been in a game. Next up is an away trip to Great Glen Res this coming Saturday.
There were a number of strong performances on the day, but Frankie Hayes edged out Farid Hamidou to claim the Man of the Match award.