Harborough Town | Champions

Harborough Town have achieved history. On the 11th April they secured the double wammy of promotion and the title of champions to the National League North after a 3-1 comeback win at Halesowen Town, having played step 5 football just four years ago.

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It's a truly remarkable story of the rise of the Bees, told by the fact they will play a league game against Morecambe next season. For those who dont know, Morecambe were a League One side four years ago, while Harborough were six leagues lower at step 5 of the non-league pyramid. Three relegations, and three promotions later respectivley and they will now meet.

Where will Harborough Town finish in the National League North next season?

• 1st
• 2nd - 7th
• 8th - 20th
• 21st - 24th

Mitch Austin's men came back from the disappointment of defeat in the step 3 play-off semi-finals last season, but came back, signed well in the summer, and went invincible at home to secure promotion. The Bees, due to a good FA Trophy run, spent the time period of the

26th November to the 10th March second best to Spalding United in the table, but once their games in hand resulted to points on the baord, there was only one champion.

It's the first time a club from the county of Leicestershire will compete it to the 2nd tier of non-league football since Hinckley United in 2013. To celebrate the success the Bees have had over the past 12 months, I spoke with two key figures of the side, winger and top scorer Riley O'Sullivan, as well as defender George Carline to get their thoughts on how the season panned out.

Harborough spent the most days at the top of the league this season

Harborough's 2025/26 top scorer O'Sullivan scored six goals in 39 league games last season for the Bees, but went to new levels this season, and scored 13 league goals in 36 league games. The 24 year old was the league's ninth highest goalscorer and even scored on their crowning day in the Black Country at The Grove before promotion celebrations ensued.

"I think I have done well this year, my best scoring record at step 3, but I can certainly get more, and I think the success to it was the team. We were and will be a side who create a lot of chances and fortunately I’ve been able to help chip in and gain us success to the National League North for next season."

"We were such a tight knit group, and we knew we were not going to concede many goals as we have a class back line, and everyone works hard and does there best for the badge. That aspect shows on how many goals we’ve conceded, the fewest in the divison by a margin. This just allowed us to have the mindset that we don’t have to rely on scoring loads of goals to win games, as we were so assertive defensively."

As mentioned by O'Sullivan, Mitch Austin's side relied heavily on a sold backline, and as Sir Alex Ferguson stated "attack wins you game, defense wins you titles". A big beneficary of their success in the defensive line was fullback George Carline. The 28 year old, signed last summer having reached the National League with Brackley Town and made the NL North Team of the Season, featured in all but two of the Bees games this league season, and contributed to 16 of their 18 clean sheets.

"You got the sense very early on how well connected all areas of the club were, from the youth teams, first team squad, the staff, media team and volunteers. It made and will continue to make the whole experience of representing the club as a player really enjoyable. The success has come from just that, a squad and staff that enjoy each others company, plenty of hard work on and off the pitch and a bit of quality to go with it.

"I think the manager (Mitch Austin) and Staffy (Dave Staff) have instilled the right kind of attitude throughout the squad where everyone understands who we were, and the minimum requirements needed to help us to the success. We also had plenty of experience amongst the squad, so there was no real hiding place if you weren't going to work for the team. Although the defense and goalkeeper took a lot of the credit, it took a huge effort from the whole squad which made us so hard to beat."

So how did the Bees have such a successful season. Well, the defensive work from Austin's side was second to none. Harborough kept 18 clean sheets, more than anyone else in the league and the next best, Spalding United, Redditch United & Worcester City's 14. The Bees also conceded just 14 first half goals, and 18 second half goals all season, the fewest in the division for both.

Harborough kept the most clean sheets in the division this season with a huge 18

Harborough very rarely gave up leads they had in games either. The Bees only dropped eight points from winning positions all season, with Kettering Town (9) coming a close second. 2026 was a fruitful year for the side as well, as they picked up 45 points, the most in the division, out of the 63 that were available.

Harborough dropped the fewest points all season from winning positions (8)

So what is in store for the Bees next season. Keeping their players will no doubt be a requirement, but the levels of recruitment they achieved last summer should no doubt be a draw for many players who are looking for a part-time step 2 club. The future looks bright for Harborough, but influence they may have on non-league football in Leicestershire may be the bigger story.