Austin so proud after Harborough Town make impressive mark in Spain
Boss Mitch Austin was bursting with pride after his Harborough Town team claimed a sensational 1-0 win at Spanish third division side AD Alcorcon in Madrid last weekend.
The match at the Estadio municipal de Santo Domingo was the centrepiece of the Bees' historic and ground-breaking pre-season tour to Spain, and the supporters who made the trip were left beaming as Danny Newton's neat finish on the hour secured a superb victory.
The Bees were also cheered on by a healthy contingent of their Spanish supporters club in the 1,000-plus crowd, and Austin admitted it was a 'huge' day for the club.
"We didn't really know what to expect, and I didn't want to put any pressure on the lads," Austin told @HarbTownFC. "For us, it was huge and I don't think Alcorcon realised how good we were going to be.
"We felt at half-time 'we are in this'. They were a little bit frustrated by our physicality and that was a win for us. I felt we were 1-0 up at half-time without being 1-0 up.
"It's a pre-season friendly, so we all had to calm down a little bit, but the emotions were high and seeing how much crowd they had, and us with our support as well, it was a big day.
"And it is a day that will live long in all of our memories and I am really proud of what the boys have done.
"It's a really good day for the club."
It's now back to normality for the Bees. They have a free midweek before travelling to Coventry Sphinx for their next friendly on Saturday.
Harborough will kick-off the new Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central with a home game against Needham Market on August 9, and Austin is excited by what could lie ahead.
"We are a non-League club that is running very quickly, and we are going to stumble at times," said the Bees boss.
"Everyone is shouting about us, about winning this league, but one thing I will says is that I am a manager with no pressure.
"My board trust me, and they have trusted me and the staff throughout the journey, and we have cracked most points of that journey.
"It just leads us into a really exciting season. We were in this position last year and look what happened there, and imagine what we can do this season with the better quality of players."