Harboro Town 2 Thrapston Town 2
Surrounded by swirling gales, Harborough Town took to the pitch to play their penultimate pre-season game against Thrapston Town from Division 1. Manager, Stuart Spencer, fielded a largely changed side from their previous encounter with Bedworth United in midweek, bringing in the likes of Joel Konteh, Tony Bartlett (C), Harry Henbury, Pernell Taylor-Jacob and Daniel Forbes to the starting line-up.
Harborough began the brighter of the two teams starting with a speculative shot from the right boot of Aaron Preston which blazed wide of the target. Thrapston were then presented with the first clear cut opportunity of the game after Pernell Taylor-Jacob was brought down by their midfielder. However, play was waved on by the referee which let their number 10 through on goal but his effort rolled narrowly wide.
Preston was continuing to prove a threat to the opposition with a show of dancing feet on the edge of the area, dumbfounding three defenders before firing a snap shot that was met by the strong palm of their in-form goalkeeper.
It was then Jordan Lever’s turn to cause some chaos amongst the Thrapston ranks as he whipped in an accurate cross from the left-hand side that was glanced wide at the far post by Harry Henbury. Lever continued to provide some urgency down the left, with a darting burst into the box which ended in a clean strike and another solid save from their number 1.
Just as Harborough were beginning to cut a frustrated unit, Lever’s persistence finally unlocked the Thrapston defence with a lovely in-swinging cross onto the head of Preston who challenged determinedly in the air and nodded down into the bottom right corner. 20 minutes on the clock and it was 1-0 to the Bees.
After the restart, Henbury made a run down the right flank before being brought down for a free kick inside dangerous territory. Henbury stepped up for a left footed strike that curled agonisingly wide of the post, leaving the keeper stranded. Henbury was again making a nuisance of himself to the back four as he managed to weave his way through the lunges of three onlookers with a mesmerising run, finishing with a cheeky nutmeg and a cracking shot that was tipped onto the bar expertly by their keeper.
Harborough continued to sting the palms of their number 1 as Jamie Mastropierro struck a venomous effort from 30 yards out but was again thwarted and put over the bar.
Four changes were then made simultaneously by Stuart Spencer and Chris Church including Callum Steer on for Joel Konteh, Jordi Burke on for Finley Grey, Luke Shaw on for Jordan Lever and Harry May replacing Harry Henbury.
Approaching the half time whistle, left-back Alfie Harris, managed to skip through the challenges of four players who converged on him before unerringly sliding the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper to make it 2-0 on 44 minutes. A quite superb solo effort.
Harborough had a firm grasp on the reigns as the referee blew for half time, cueing a torrential downpour which left the surface greasy and zippy.
Harborough emerged once more from their half time team talk, looking to finish off a well-polished performance. The Bees were again out of the blocks sharply as a searching cross from Shaw found its way to Preston who planted a fierce header into the ground but was again denied by the razor-sharp reflexes of the keeper’s left boot.
Harborough’s dominance continued as they mounted yet another assault on the Thrapston rear guard with a clever through ball from Harry May to Mastropierro who lashed in a sizzling cross towards Preston who side footed just wide.
However, against the run of play, Thrapston won a cheap free kick just inside Harborough’s half, which was taken by their number 5 and was easily headed home by their number 4 centre back to give themselves a ticket back into the contest. The score was 2-1 with 55 minutes gone.
Shortly after another good spell of pressure from Harborough, Thrapston were once again stirring trouble down the other end in the shape of their number 11. He proceeded to cut inside onto his left foot and unleash a fabulous curling effort that left the crossbar rattling.
Moments later, a carbon copy move saw their number 11 cut inside once more and strike from the edge of the area which just crept under the body of the unfortunate Mike Turner. 65 minutes on the clock and the score was level again at 2-2.
Jordan Lever re-entered the field of play once more to try and inspire Harborough to a well-deserved victory. His reintroduction almost paid dividends as he was played into the box but fired over as the keeper came to close the angle. Harborough continued to test the man between the sticks but to no avail as Shaw saw his thunderous effort parried out into play and then over the bar by the incoming Harry May, shortly followed by Lever’s effort being terrifically tipped around the post by his outstretched left hand.
As thunder and lightning struck, the referee blew the final whistle to signal the end of a frustrating yet fascinating clash. Definitely plenty of positives to take into their upcoming season and after some performances today, the management team are going to have a lot of decisions to make.
-Match Report by Harry Shephard
