Michael Jacobs nets winner as Harborough Town made to work for FA Cup progress

FA Cup fever returned to the Beehive, perhaps a welcome reprieve from league action after a somewhat mixed start to the campaign.

Having failed to score in their previous three fixtures, boss Mitch Austin made a couple of changes to the starting XI, most notably dropping Prince Mancinelli to the bench, with Michael Jacobs coming into central midfield.

Southern League Premier Central side Rushall arrived at the Beehive looking to topple the men in yellow, as the Bees found themselves in somewhat unfamiliar FA Cup territory, going from scalp hunters to becoming the potential scalp.

The visitors proved difficult opponents from the off, switching between a back four and a back five and keeping things super compact, making for a frantic first ten minutes as both sides tried to find their feet in the tie.

As both teams settled, the Pics fired a few warning shots, with skipper Liam McAlinden, fullback Carter Lycett and Luke Yates proving to be Rushall’s standout players.

The best chance of the half came just after the half-hour mark, when Yates and McAlinden combined from a short corner, forcing Elliot Taylor to get down to make the save as McAlinden drilled hard and low towards the inside of Taylor’s near post.

A minute before the break, Lycett played the pass of the match. The fullback showed outrageous vision to pick out Yates unmarked in the box through a sea of bodies; however, Yates, unable to apply a touch worthy of the pass, allowed Harborough to clear.

Within three minutes of the restart, Rushall created their best chance of the game. Yates drove through the middle before laying the ball off to Cameron inside the box. For a split second, it looked as though the Rushall man would slot the ball past Taylor, but the Bees stopper stood tall.

With the hour mark approaching and Rushall still frustrating, Bees boss Austin turned to his bench. Sam Osborne and Riley O’Sullivan replaced Dempsey Arlott-John and Powell, swapping both wingers in one go.

The changes had an almost immediate impact. Osborne’s quick feet started causing problems and, three minutes after coming on, the substitute laid the ball back to Jacobs on the edge of the box.

Jacobs shifted it onto his left foot and took aim, with a deflection sending the ball looping over Oliver Taylor and into the net. It wasn’t the prettiest goal he’ll ever score, but after three games without one, nobody in yellow particularly cared.

Rushall almost levelled when substitute Luke Benbow produced a delicate backheel into the feet of Brown, who shot agonisingly over the bar. Two minutes later, Okuonghae could only dink the ball over from close range.

Harborough missed a chance to wrap up the game when Osborne timed a pass to perfection to play in O’Sullivan. A bread-and-butter Riley finish was to be expected; however, the forward lacked composure and lashed the ball straight at Taylor.

After the Bees held on for victory, Austin said: “It’s a big plus to get through. The FA Cup is really important to us. We want to replicate what we have done previously.”