AFC Bournemouth currently sit third in the National League Southern Premier Division, trailing league leaders Watford by five points and second-placed Plymouth by one.
But, crucially, Helen Bleazard’s side have three games in hand over both teams, and they have only played once in the league in 2026, a 1-1 draw against Hashtag United on the first weekend of the year.
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Jessica Hennessy’s headed equaliser deep in stoppage time in that game helped to preserve an unbeaten run in the league that runs to more than 1,000 days – and they’ll be looking to preserve that record for the remainder of the campaign.
Reflecting on the season so far, Harris told the Daily Echo: “I think we came into tier three not knowing what to expect.
The Cherries remain unbeaten in the league (Image: Richard Crease)
“People had talked about our unbeaten record and whether that would continue in tier three, and I think we didn't realize it would take us this far.
“It's over 1,000 days at least. I don't even know what it is to be exact at the minute, but we couldn't imagine that we had done so well.
“I think at the very start of the season, the word promotion was almost a taboo word. We didn't want to say it, we didn't want to jinx anything. We just wanted to see how it goes.
“Whilst we still have a long way to go, we're only halfway through the season now, I think the position that we're in has served us really well to potentially look forward to that and It's different to last year where promotion was an expectation and there was almost pressure on that.
“I think this year it's really exciting to know that if we can strive for that, it'll be an amazing achievement for the club.
“But ultimately, wherever we come in tier three, this is the first time we've ever been at this level, and I think that we can all be proud of ourselves, how well we've competed in the league so far.”
Bournemouth currently sit third but they have three games in hand on the teams above them (Image: Richard Crease)
Harris said the team will continue to take the season game by game, though, despite their strong form.
“I think although it seems as a negative that we're in third now, because we have games in hand, it's almost easier to chase someone in front of you,” she said.
“When we were top of the league, although it was a great experience, all we could do is stay first and we watched the other teams get closer, whereas the fact that we're in third now, we're able to chase them.
“I think it's difficult whether to say we're aiming for promotion now, but I think that we know that if we continue to keep winning games, that's going to be a target.
“So it's very different to last year, whereas where last year promotion was all we were aiming for and every single game we knew we had to win to get promoted, we are taking it game by game.
“But I think us girls on, on the low are thinking, ‘if we keep winning this could be a real target for us, and this could be something that we can accomplish.'
“So, definitely taking it game by game, but I think in the back of our heads, we're all secretly hoping that it leads to promotion.”