Kettering confirmed in Conference North

Kettering Town have finally received official confirmation from the Nationwide Conference of their inclusion in the Football Conference North for the coming 2004-05 season.

Margate down, Kettering switch to North ?

Although not yet officially confirmed by the Conference committee, Margate have decided to accept demotion from the Conference National into the Conference Division Two South for next season. The Margate board voted 'overwhelmingly' to drop into the lower league ahead of an impending deadline imposed by the Conference.

If their decision is confirmed by the Conference board of directors then the likely outcome is that Leigh RMI will be re-instated into the Conference National and Kettering Town will switch from the South Section to the North to make way for Margate and balance the number of teams in each section.

The decision by the Margate board allows the club to make the move back to their own Hartsdown Park ground, which doesn't currently have enough capacity to meet the Conference National criteria but does meet the requirement for Conference Two South.

Norman moves on

The tenure of Kettering's currently longest serving player, club captain Craig Norman, has come to an end after the club and Norman couldn't agree a new contract deal. Norman has been at Kettering since he signed under manager Gary Johnson in October 1995.

Poppies manager Kevin Wilson had announced that he'd offered Norman a position as player coach, but it appears it was at a reduced salary and one that Norman rejected, "I wasn't able to accept what was offered. It was just too much of a cut."

Squad shake-up begins for Wilson

Poppies boss Kevin Wilson got down to the business of sorting out his playing squad for next season by releasing six players and signing another one, as well as working out contracts with those he wants to remain at Rockingham Road.

The six players released are midfielder Ian King, goalkeeper William Gourlay and youngsters Delroy Gordon, Brian Hardie, Michael McKenzie and Michael Boyle-Chong. The new player brought in by Wilson is 24 year-old winger Daniel French from Bedford Town.

Play-offs concluded for final Conference Division Two places

Congratulations to St Albans City, Lewes, Redditch Utd and Dorchester Town and comiserations to Bedford Town, Kingstonian, Merthyr Tydfil and Tiverton Town as the remaining places for the Conference Division Two leagues were decided through the play-off finals.

In the Isthmian League, Bedford went down 5-4 at home to St Albans despite having a 3-1 lead at the break. In a see-saw encounter the Saints first pulled back on level terms and then took a 4-3 lead, only for the Eagles to score from the spot to make it 4-4 with just 5 minutes left. Agony for the home fans as Steve Watts' 25yd effort sailed into the net and the Saints claimed a dramatic last-gasp victory.

Play-offs well underway - Poppies back 'oop North?

With the regular season now finally ended for the clubs of the three 'feeder leagues', the play-offs for the final berths up-for-grabs in one of the two Conference Division Two leagues next season are well under way.

Northern:
Carl Shutt's Bradford Park Avenue have already negotiated their way safely through the Northern League play-offs to gain a place in (undoubtably) Conference Division Two North for next season. Congratulations Shutty!

Isthmian:
In the Isthmian League play-offs, Lewes were the winners of the Division One North v South play-off beating Yeading 1-0 and they continued their form into their match against Basingstoke Town, hammering the unlucky 14th place finishers 4-1 at The Camrose.

Their 'reward' is now a trip to Bedford Town after the Eagles beat Hitchin Town 3-1 in a stormy affair at the New Eyrie. Drew Roberts scored twice for the home side and both teams had a player dismissed (Lee Howarth for Bedford), but in the end the Eagles were comfortable winners and now host the Division One South Champions on Saturday.

Kingstonian travelled to Harrow Borough and perhaps true to form the match ended in a 0-0 draw, despite extra-time being played, the two teams couldn't be separated in regulation play. In the ensuing penalty shoot-out it was the K's who kept their cool and went through 4-2, where they now host the Saints.

The match between Heybridge Swifts and St Albans City was far from a dull scoreless encounter and with the teams sharing seven goals it was the Saints who edged out the Swifts 4-3 at Scraley Road to progress into the next phase and a showdown with the K's on Saturday.

Update!
The RLPD play-off fixtures have now been switched back to their original pairings:

Bedford Town v St Albans City
Lewes v Kingstonian

Poppies finish season in style

Kettering Town 4 Hendon 1

Kettering finished their season off in fine style with a 4-1 hammering of Hendon at Rockingam Road with the goals coming from McIlwain, DiFante, Graham and Diuk as the Poppies ran rampant. A goaless first-half suddenly burst into life on the hour mark and within ten minutes the home side were 3-0 up.

The introduction of the Kettering subs allowed the visitors a consolation goal but a final reminder just before the final whistle underlined just how comfortable a win this was for the Poppies. The combination of another 3pts points and defeats for both Bishop's Stortford and Bognor Regis Town, the latter hammered 8-0 by Bedford Town, saw Kettering climb into 9th position in the final RLPD table.