Harborough's 'anti-football' heroes create cup buzz

Harborough Town celebrate victory over Bury in the FA Cup

Market Harborough was listed earlier this year among the best places to live in the Midlands - and now the town has a football team to be proud of as well.

The Bees reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time ever with a 1-0 home victory over Bury.

And manager Mitch Austin makes no apologies for a tactical approach, built on a tight defence, which some rival teams have called 'anti-football'.

Ben Stephens scored the only goal from the penalty spot as the Southern League Premier Central side put their name in the hat for Monday evening's draw at the expense of The Shakers, a Football League club as recently as 2019.

"It's the FA Cup, it doesn't have to be a blockbuster, you just have to get in the next round and little old Harborough are there," Austin told BBC Radio Leicester.

He praised Stephens for holding his nerve in the crucial moment, but joked: "The wind was blowing that way, the sun was in the keeper's eyes, I thought it's got to go in - and Ben has the quality to do that."

Harborough were formed in 1975 but is only since former St Ives Town assistant boss Austin was appointed almost four years ago that things have taken a notable upturn on the pitch.

There have been two promotions since then, including last season, when they went up via the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands play-offs after missing out on the title because of a six-point deduction, having fielded an ineligible player.

In order to preserve numerical balance at seventh-tier level, the club now find themselves in Southern League Premier Central.

They beat Darlaston Town, Stourbridge and Leamington to reach the final qualifying round, the latter by the same 1-0 scoreline, and Austin was delighted with another clean sheet against Bury.

"We're renowned for that, we're good off the ball, we've got an unbelievable shape," he added.

"People say it's anti-football, but I say it's another style of football and (makes us) very hard to beat.

"At half-time I heard one of their staff say 'they're anti-football'. I told the boys and that's a little bit of a buzz for us because it means we've rattled them a little bit."

The game attracted a club-record attendance of 1,600 at the Community Ground and Austin believes that such occasions can "buy fans".

He added: "History, we haven't got a lot of, people make fun of us for it, but we've created history (against Bury). Fans can see an occasion like this, get involved, have a feel for it and come again."

Mitch Austin has transformed Harborough's fortunes since taking over in 2020

Market Harborough does not have too many famous sons - former Leicester City and Charlton Athletic midfielder Andy Peake, former British heavyweight champion Jack Gardner and composer Simon Park, whose Orchestra had a number one record with Eye Level in the 1970s, are among them.

But defender Ben Williams was delighted that he was able to help his local team make some FA Cup headlines.

"I've been here for 11 years, we've had some tough times, but since the gaffer's come in, the club's building and getting results, it's a great place to be at the moment," he said.

"Whenever we go into any game we always believe in ourselves and when you've got a defence like we have, you always feel confident that when you go forward, everything at the back is secured," forward Tendai Daire added.

"You look at other clubs that do good (Cup) runs and you always wish that you can have that moment - but the job's not done yet, we want to make another shock."

Goalkeeper Elliott Taylor's Harborough career began in the FA Cup when chance gave him an opportunity to join the club.

"The Harborough keeper was suspended, I wasn't at a club at the time, but ended up coming in for the game and three years down the line, I'm still here," he said.

"Two promotions and now this cup run, it's one of my best decisions ever really."