Chasetown U23s V Harborough Town U23s (Challenge Trophy, Final)

​Chasetown and Harborough Town met in this season’s Challenge Trophy final held at Bedworth United yesterday. Both sides have had outstanding seasons in the development division with only one point separating Chasetown in 2nd and Harborough in 3rd.

Both were looking to finish the season with a piece of silverware with Chasetown leading this season’s head-to-head 3-0 prior to yesterday.        

The Scholars have been one of the more consistent sides in the league with only two losses from sixteen matches under manager Craig Littler. They beat a dangerous Solihull Youth Academy side 4-2 in the semi-finals to be one match away from lifting the challenge trophy.   

One of their main strengths has been their defensive record which is the joint best in the division alongside league champions Tamworth. The Staffordshire side had only conceded 18 goals in the league.

Harborough have been brilliant in the development division this season with ten wins from sixteen matches to finish in 3rd. The Leicester side beat Hednesford Town in the semi finals 3-1 to reach yesterday’s showpiece event. 

The Bees have one of the best attacks in the development division with 60 goals scored under manager Joshua Unsworth.

They were going to be a tough test for Chasetown yesterday and were more than capable of winning it. 

Starting line ups

Chasetown’s starting line up included Harley Gray starting in goal and Oscar Wyton captaining the team at right back. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Remmiko Harper leading the line up front and being supported by Kaireice Cunningham and Jay Clements on the wings.

There were three changes from their semi final match against Solihull Youth academy a fortnight ago with Lucas Tibbs coming into the team and playing at centre back alongside Tyler Clarke.  

Harborough’s starting line-up included Gene Ghag starting in goal and Archie O’Donnell captaining the team on the right wing. The formation looked like a 4-3-3 with Joe Ball playing up front and being supported by Kai O’Keeffe and Archie O’Donnell on the wings.

There were no changes from their semi final match against Hednesford Town a few weeks back.

​First Half

Chasetown started the match positively and were causing Harborough problems early on. Kaireice Cunningham looked a threat down the right-hand side and latched on to a brilliant cross field ball by Jay Clements to race through on goal. He ran into the box before firing wide of the right-hand post in the 4th minute.

The Scholars looked a dangerous side in the early stages of the first half and were settling into the final inside the opening fifteen minutes. Tyler Clarke was reading the danger well at centre back and giving them that composure at the back.

​The Staffordshire side were struck by a series of bad injuries with Tyler Clarke and Jay Clements coming off the pitch. Oscar Wyton was moved to centre back with Jovan Shoker coming on at right back.

​This affected some of their earlier momentum which was unlucky as they were starting to build something in front of goal.    

Harborough gradually settled into the match as the first half went on and were quietly building some momentum. Kai O’Keeffe played an inviting cross field ball to Archie O’Donnell who raced through on goal with just Harley Gray to beat. The Chasetown keeper made an instinctive save to keep it goalless after 19 minutes.

The Leicester side looked well organised both on and off the ball. Josh Berwick did well to break up promising Chasetown attacks from holding midfield with Tom Hoey impressing at centre back.

The only thing missing from the Bees was that final ball into the box to stretch the Chasetown defence in the first half.

None the less, it was a free-flowing game yesterday with both sides going for it and committing players forward rather than sitting back and looking to strike on the break.

Harborough were given a penalty when Lucas Tibbs brought down Kai O’Keeffe in the box for a spot kick just before half time. Kai O’Keeffe took it and had his effort saved by Harley Gray to keep Chasetown in the game going into the second half.

​Second Half

Harborough stepped it up in the second half and showed their quality when it mattered to take control of the final. The Bees scored straight from kick off when Joe Ball made a brilliant run down the left before squaring it to Archie O’Donnell in the box. He made no mistake and calmy finished into the bottom left corner for 1-0 after 46 minutes.

Joe Ball was causing Chasetown problems at the back and made some well-timed runs into the box. He broke free of the defence before racing through on goal with just Harley Gray to beat. The Chasetown keeper stepped up and made a quality save on 52 minutes.

The Leicester side had the momentum in the early stages of the second half and made it count on 55 minutes. Archie O’Donnell found some space before producing a low finish into the bottom right corner for 2-0.

It was all clicking for Harborough in the second half who were playing on the front foot. They also looked assured at the back with Martin Tsvetkov a reliable presence at left back. He constantly tracked back to stop Chasetown attacks.

The Bees sealed the match with twenty minutes to go when a quality ball into the box found Jakeem Jennings who finished into the bottom left corner for 3-0.  

​Chasetown struggled to build some momentum in the second half with Harborough in the ascendancy. Lucas Tibbs conceded a penalty when he fouled Jakeem Jennings in the box for a spot kick. Archie O’Donnell stepped up and saw his effort hit the crossbar to keep it at 3-0.

The final fifteen minutes saw Harborough controlling the match and keeping focused to stop Chasetown getting back into it. The Scholars were pushing for a consolation late on, but Tom Hoey got some key blocks in to preserve the clean sheet on a memorable afternoon for Bees supporters.   

Full Time

Harborough were worthy winners of the Challenge Trophy and produced the quality in the second half to win it against Chasetown. It all clicked into place for the Leicester side who were moving the ball about with purpose and all three of the goals were quality. They looked like a side that had one of the best attacks in the league and showed it in this match.  

Chasetown just came up short yesterday but should be proud of their season in general. To finish in 2nd and reach the final of the Challenge Trophy is a good achievement when reflecting on their campaign with players such as Kaireice Cunningham and Harley Gray impressing for the Staffordshire side.    

Despite the one-sided scoreline of the final, the match was a good watch as a neutral with both sides positive on the ball and going for it in front of goal.

The day belonged to Harborough who bought along a notable following at Bedworth. The support for the Bees felt encouraging for the future of non-league football in the Leicester area.      

FT score: Chasetown U23s 0-3 Harborough Town U23s

Man of the match: Archie O’Donnell (Harborough Town)

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League