Poppies at Rushden ends in stalemate

February 27, 2010—

Rushden & Diamonds 0

Kettering Town 0

Kettering Town made the shortest journey on their league fixture list when they traveled across to Nene Park to take on neighbours Rushden & Diamonds in an early kick-off encounter of two teams pushing for the play-offs.

The match ended in a goaless draw as neither side could provide the precise finishing touch necessary to beat their respective opponents constantly alert keepers. The first-half saw the two sides try to settle into their stride but not many clearcut chances as Lee Tomlin tried from the edge of the area but Nathan Abbey dealt comfortably with the efforts and at the other end Kwesi Appiah couldn't quite direct his shot enough and it flew narrowly past the upright.

Half-time:   Rushden & Diamonds 0 Kettering Town 0

The second-half saw an increase in the tempo and Kettering could have taken the lead early on but John Dempster headed just wide of the mark from a Marcus Kelly cross. On the hour mark it looked like the home side had broken the deadlock as a strike from Aaron O'Connor eluded the diving stretch of Nathan Abbey but the ball rebounded off the post to the relief of the traveling Poppies support.

Back to the other end and James Dance had a chance to give Kettering the lead but was slightly off target on the first attempt and the second driven effort was palmed away by Dale Roberts in the Rushden goal. The home side threatened late on again through Tomlin but it summed up the day for both attacks as he fired wide of the mark and Kettering saw out the remaining minutes to earn a draw.

Att: 2,998

Kettering Town: Abbey, Taylor, Dempster, Roper, Jennings, Wrack, Noubissie, Hadfield, Kelly, Appiah, Dance. Subs: Boucaud (Wrack 73), Marna (Appiah 46), Thomas (Kelly 69), Cooper, Thelwell.

Rushden & Diamonds: Roberts, Osano, Downer, Stuart, Robinson, Porter, Terry, Byrne, O'Connor, Louis, Tomlin. Subs: Akurang (Louis 63), Farrell (O'Connor 90), Day, Corcoran, Pattison.