In the 83rd minute of this one-sided encounter at Rothamsted Park, something happened that encapsulated a thrilling season, placing the icing on the cake of a promotion party 9 years in the waiting.
Needing just a point to go up and already leading 7-1 thanks to goals from Bennett, Broniecki, Evans, Habashi (2), McLeod and Paton; Aaron Asimeng won the ball deep in his own penalty area, snuffing out a rare Bovingdon attack with a pacy intervention before transitioning. Without hesitation, he played a crisp one-two with Perkins and set off on a mazy run, turning defence into attack with elegance and intent. Space opened up. Runners surged. Bovingdon dropped back sensing danger. This is what Harpenden Development do.
Past one man. Then another. Gliding effortlessly across the 4G, Asimeng just kept on striding forward, seemingly beating every player on the opposition team before finally cutting inside and curling an unstoppable shot into the far corner of the net. On a day of sublime goals, in a season of great moments it was a highlight. A goal of pure beauty—a statement! A moment of magic that encapsulated the energy, confidence, and collective spirit of this team.
In the aftermath the subs invaded the pitch, and the entire team celebrated near the corner flag like it was a late goal in a European Cup final.
It should have been a moment of unalloyed joy. After all, this was the win that sealed promotion to the Herts Senior County Premier Division—only the second Harpenden men’s side in recent memory to earn a promotion. But it was bittersweet.
PROMOTION SECURED!!! ⬆️
Full Time:
Harpenden Town 10-1 Bovingdon ReservesNothing could stop this group achieving promotion this year 🙌🏻
The second men’s promotion in 25 years at Harpenden 🟡🟢
Scorers:
Asimeng
Bennett
Broniecki (2)
Cornea
Evans
Habashi (2)
McLeod
Paton pic.twitter.com/DPfYWAxPV2— Harpenden Town Development (@HTFCDev) April 19, 2025
Just a week earlier, the club had confirmed that the management team that had guided the team to this achievement would not be retained. Their vision for the team not aligned with the club’s prosaic one of a second-string outfit with no purpose other than to serve the first eleven. No thanks. No recognition on the club’s web page. Not even a parting handshake for a team that had outgrown the club’s ambition.
When Matt Evans, Ryan Spencer, Myles Thomas and Dan Marjanovic took charge, the Devs were mid-table obscurity personified. A backwater side. A place to send sulking first-teamers to clock minutes. The kit was falling apart, the atmosphere flat, and ambition all but non existent. A footnote. An afterthought. The forgotten men. It was a team in name only, lacking identity, cohesion, and hope.
Two seasons on, and everything has changed
Evans and his team scouted players others had overlooked. Coached and coaxed performances from talent others had discarded. Promoted youth. Forged connections. And most importantly, built a team—not just a group of individuals. A team with an identity. Purpose. Fluid attacking football, gritty defensive resilience, and an unshakeable togetherness that made them hard to beat and easy to love.
Off the pitch, they hustled too—securing sponsorships, buying their own kit, creating a self-sufficient unit that asked nothing of the club but a pitch and a chance to prove themselves.
And prove themselves they did: 26 games played. 21 wins. 3 draws. 2 defeats. Scoring more than four goals per game while boasting the stingiest defence across all Herts County divisions. In any other year, they’d be champions, but for Westmill’s near perfect campaign—ironically blemished only by one draw, against Harpenden.
Yet success, it seems, wasn’t enough. Or maybe it was TOO MUCH. While the Devs flourished, the first team floundered. As the Devs unbeaten run stretched into the spring maybe too many ego bubbles in the corridors of power at the club were popped. Rather than see this group as being integral to the potentially bright future of the club, they were seen instead as a threat. A group of young upstarts who needed to be placed back in their boxes.
And so here is where it ended. From day one of this season this young group have taken fans on a thrilling roller coaster ride. Now it just seemed fitting that they would save the best till the last. A sublime moment of pure brilliance to bookend this wonderful journey.
There was still time for Madalin Corneanu to grab a ninth and Milosz Broniecki to make it double figures and then it was over. Promotion secured. Seasons goals achieved. A mic drop moment. Time to move on. No need for bitterness. Onwards and upwards.
As Ian Brown famously said at the very last Stone Roses concert. “Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened”. A perfect epitaph!
Bob