Harborough Town boss Mitch Austin enamored by ‘surreal’ Macclesfield fixture

Harborough Town boss Mitch Austin is relishing the experience of managing in the National League North, as the Bees approach a ‘surreal’ fixture away at Macclesfield FC.

Back to league action following a narrow 1-0 win over Rushall Olympic in the FA Cup, Harborough are eager to kick on following a promising first nine matches.

Mitch Austin sometimes has to pinch himself about the level Harborough Town are playing at. (Photo credit: Rob O'Brien)

placeholder image — Mitch Austin sometimes has to pinch himself about the level Harborough Town are playing at. (Photo credit: Rob O'Brien)

Despite failing to score in each of their last three league games, the Bees have claimed 12 points so far, seeing them firmly in mid-table.

The trip to Macclesfield will be a huge challenge as the Silkmen are currently third in the standings and have lost just once so far this season.

There are certainly no expectations that Harborough will go to the Leasing.com Stadium and get a result, though manager Austin is hopeful his team can at least be competitive.

Austin told @HarbTownFC: “It’s a side that last year beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup, right? Wow, that’s surreal.

“Listen, I don’t want to sound like I’m enjoying the view too much, but to reflect that we’re going to Macclesfield next week… brilliant.

“It’s something we should be really looking forward to and I’m sure a few fans will make the travel up. Hopefully we can put on a performance we can be proud of.”

Harborough have built confidence at just the right time, with last Saturday’s FA Cup victory over Rushall a solid platform to build on.

It could prove to be an important competition for the Bees this season as they seek to build their reputation further, establishing themselves in the upper echelons of non-league.

“I’m glad we’ve gone through, I’m glad we’ve got a clean sheet, and I’m glad we scored. That’s loads of big plusses for us,” Austin reflected.

“We took it as the FA Cup and not a league game. The FA Cup is really important to us. We’ve had some unbelievable memories – Bury here, Tunbridge Wells away, Reading away.

“If we’re lucky and put our best foot forward in every FA Cup game, we want to try and replicate what we did previously.

“We will certainly have one eye on trying to progress in every round. Whether that’s possible, I don’t know, but we’ll give it our all.”

The Bees’ clash at Macclesfield kicks off at 3pm this Saturday, September 26.