Harborough Town 3 Stephens(6’ Pen, 45+4), Rose (24’)
Stratford Town 1
Ebanks (65’)
All was well that ended well for Harborough Town as a strong first half performance saw the Bees blow away Stratford Town in what was a tragedy for the Bards.
The hosts started brightly and were immediately presented with the opportunity of taking the lead as Jutorre Burgess was fouled in the area. Ben Stephens needed no further invitation and calmly converted his spot kick down to Jacob Weaver’s right to put his side ahead.
Riley O’Sullivan came close to adding a second in quick succession as his shot was cleared off the line by a retreating Stratford backline but the visiting defence could not do anything to thwart Luis Rose as the forward poked the ball past the onrushing Weaver to double the advantage.
Moments later, after being played in behind by Josh Walsh, Rose rounded the keeper but was denied by last-ditch defending, while the visitors enjoyed their first meaningful chance of the game as Finley Brennan met a cross at the back post but was unable to direct his effort under the crossbar.
Buoyed by this chance, the Bards pressed up the pitch and forced Elliott Taylor into a fingertip save through Charlie Williams, but a breakaway from Stephens sealed the points on the stroke of half time as the ball hit the back of the net in spite of the best efforts of the Stratford defence.
It was more of the same at the beginning of the second half as a swivel-shot from O’Sullivan stung Weaver’s palms from close range, but as the visitors enjoyed more of the ball, their confidence levels grew, and a goal was the reward for their improvement as Callum Ebanks met a cutback to slot the ball home.
Both sides threatened from corners, with Dan Forbes and Paul McCone heading wide respectively but with the result seemingly confirmed, neither side enjoyed any further clearcut chances.
With Stratford Town slipping out of the playoff positions following the result and Harborough Town keeping the pressure on, the overriding question for both teams regarding promotion remains: ‘To be or not to be’.
Match Rating: 4*
MOTM: Alex Morris (HTFC)
By Cristian Bratu