Northants Combination League
Premier Division
Tuesday 25th August 2026
Harborough Town Under 21’s (4) – (1) Earls Barton United
Report – Jonathan Hulls
Photo – Andy Murdock Photography
Harborough Town Under 21’s – Alex Fisher, Corey Birch (Charlie King 75’), Coen Hughes, Thomas Hoey, James Flint, Cyprian Mtenga (Julian Pisau 56’), Archie Woolmer, Leighton McWilliams, Archie O’Donnell (Rian Verghese 75’), Zak Gillespie (Shaan Virk 63’), Chulu Johnson (Oliver Price 67’).
Harborough Town U21s produced another impressive attacking display as the Young Bees recovered from falling behind to secure a convincing 4-1 victory over Earls Barton United at the Beehive.
Despite conceding the opening goal, Josh Unsworth’s side responded strongly, scoring twice before the interval before adding another two goals during an impressive second-half performance.
The visitors made the breakthrough in the 17th minute, making the most of a corner kick to take the lead. Mpambi rose highest inside the Harborough penalty area and powered a thundering header beyond Alex Fisher, leaving the Young Bees goalkeeper with no chance.
Harborough responded well to the early setback and were back on level terms just eight minutes later.
A brilliant switch of play from James Flint found Archie O’Donnell, who cut inside onto his left foot before showing plenty of composure to calmly place his finish into the corner and make it 1-1.
The equaliser gave the Young Bees further confidence as they continued to grow into the game and put together some promising attacking moves.
Their pressure was rewarded in the 38th minute as Harborough completed the turnaround. Another excellent delivery from Flint picked out Zak Gillespie, who produced a brilliant piece of control before slotting his finish into the bottom corner to put the Young Bees ahead for the first time.
Having responded impressively to going behind, Harborough headed into the interval with a deserved advantage.
Half Time: Harborough Town U21s 2-1 Earls Barton United
The Young Bees came out of the blocks with real intent after the break and quickly looked to build on their first-half turnaround.
Their positive start to the second period was rewarded in the 56th minute following some brilliant link-up play. Gillespie delivered the ball across goal and Corey Birch found himself on the end of the cross, making no mistake from close range to extend Harborough’s advantage to 3-1.
Harborough continued to play with confidence as the half progressed, with the Young Bees looking dangerous when moving the ball forward.
The fourth and final goal arrived in the 70th minute after another excellent piece of build-up play.
Julian Pisau found O’Donnell on the left, with the Harborough attacker driving forward before cutting the ball back across the face of goal. Shaan Virk was perfectly positioned to meet the delivery, tapping home from close range to complete the scoring.
It rounded off another impressive performance from the Young Bees, who showed an excellent response to falling behind before taking control of the contest and securing a convincing victory.
Head Coach Josh Unsworth said:
“The reaction to going behind was excellent against a good side who kept us honest. We played with real intent and quality throughout. Most importantly, the lads are showing real belief in themselves and each other.”