04 Nov 2026
Harpenden Town 3 West Essex 2 (FA Vase)
Harps gave their supporters one hell of a scare – fitting on Halloween – but eventually progressed into the Third Round Proper of the FA Vase, thanks to a remarkable comeback completed by a 92-minute winner from Jon Clements, writes Jess Unwin.
Already a goal down by half-time at Rothamsted Park on Saturday, a second goal for West Essex after the break looked like it might prove a stake through the heart for Town’s cup chances.
But Charlie Smith’s excellent left-footed free kick on 75 minutes brought Harpenden back to life and with just two minutes of ordinary time left, substitute Zach White tapped in from close range to level the scores at 2-2.
With time running out, Smith’s cross was headed back into the visitors’ six-yard box, where Shay Kelly rose highest to head towards goal before Clements poked the ball home to make it 3-2.
Talking to the club’s social media, manager Jimmy Gray said: “Credit to the lads – they’ve got a never-say-die attitude and it shows. I think that’s three games on the spin we’ve been down one or two goals and still managed to get something out of the game. The resilience and the camaraderie are good and it’s nice to be in the hat for the next round.”
He added: “Fair play to West Essex, they gave a good account of themselves. I thought they were great on the counterattack… but we probably had enough chances to make the game far more comfortable than we did.
“We’re giving ourselves mountains to climb in some games because of lack of discipline or making the wrong decision in the final third.”
While Gray might prefer it if his side were winning matches the easy way, they nevertheless continue to get results and are now unbeaten since defeat to Newport Pagnell on September 5 – a statistic which the Harps boss rightly pointed out is “no mean feat”.
Nevertheless, Town were knocked off top spot in the Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division on Monday night as rivals Risborough Rangers beat Kings Langley 5-3.
On Tuesday night, there was more cup action at Rothamsted Park as Harpenden Town beat a Watford XI 5-1 in the Hertfordshire FA Senior Challenge Cup.
- Next up for Harps is a home game on November 14 against Potton United. Kick-off at Rothamsted Park is 3pm.
