Poppies host Alfreton in Trophy

Kettering Town have been drawn at home again in the Third Round of the FA Trophy, but will need to be at their best to get past current Conference North leaders Alfreton Town. A 2-1 away win at North Ferriby United was enough to see the Reds into the Third Round and another visit to Rockingham Road, following their 1-1 draw for the league fixture back in late September.

Kevin Wilson's men eased past Burscough on Saturday by the narrow 1-0 scoreline, but Wilson himself was the first to admit it should have been a greater margin. "We should have won it more convincingly. Anyone who watched that game would have to agree that the final scoreline flattered them because we dominated from start to finish. But it was the same old story because we have created chance after chance and not killed them off."

However, the Poppies supporters at Rockingham Road will have at least been happier with the result than of late and the extra £3,000 bonus for winning the Second Round will also have been a welcome addition to the club's coffers.

The Third Round winners bonus rises to £4,000, but there is a long wait until the ties take place on Saturday 15th January 2005.

Poppies edge out Burscough in Trophy

Kettering Town 1  Burscough 0

New signing Luke McShane started in goal for Kettering and top scorer Darren Lynch returned to the starting line up as the Poppies took on Burscough in the Second Round of the FA Trophy at Rockingham Road.

Despite numerous chances for both sides, a 10th minute header by Derek Brown turned out to be enough at the final whistle for Kettering Town to edge out Burscough in a tough encounter and safely negoitate their passage into the Third Round stage of the competition.

Poppies sign two players

Kettering Town manager Kevin Wilson announced the siging of two new players, goalkeeper Luke McShane and midfielder James Gould. McShane is only 19 years old but has already demonstrated his ability between the posts at Peterborough Utd playing for the Youth Team.

Gould (pictured right) was released by Conference outfit Stevenage Borough, who listed the 22 year-old as being an 'attacking left-back'. He previously played for Boston Utd and started his career as a trainee at Northampton Town.

Toothless Poppies beaten at home again

Kettering Town 0  Lancaster City 2

Kettering kicked off the match without top scorer Darren Lynch who is still sidelined with a thigh injury and judging by the goaless first 45 minutes his prowess in front of goal was again sorely missed.

The second-half only made things worse for Kettering when shortly after the restart the visitors went 1-0 up through a Peter Thompson strike on 47 minutes. With the home side unable to make any impression on the Dolly Blues defence it was left to Peter Thompson to score his and Lancaster's second at the final whistle.

Busy time for Poppies boss Wilson

Kettering Town manager Kevin Wilson has been fairly busy of late, with the club's revolving door continuing to spin and players coming in to replace those departing.

Neil Lazarus has departed Rockingham Road to seek regular first team football elsewhere and 21-year-old striker Jonny Rowan has signed on non-contract forms for the Poppies, making his debut in the 1-0 NFA Hillier Senior Cup defeat at Raunds Town in mid-week.

However, there is certainly no doubt which new arrival took prominence in the busy schedule of a 'delighted but exhausted' Kevin Wilson this week, congratulations on the birth of son Deri.

Poor Poppies lose at Runcorn

Runcorn FC Halton 2  Kettering Town 0

Kettering kicked-off their away fixture at Runcorn without the services of top scorer Darren Lynch, with Daniel French and Drew Roberts starting up front for the Poppies.

Judging by the first 45 minutes it appeared Lynch's absence was highly noticeable as Kettering struggled to find a way through the home defence. They paid the price on 40 minutes when Nicky Young put the Linnets in front and Kettering went into the break 1-0 behind.

Worse was to come for Kettering in the second-half when Brown put the ball past Poppies keeper Steve Corry to give the home side a 2-0 lead just before the hour mark. With Kettering unable to breach the Linnets defence the scoreline remained 2-0 at the final whistle.

Att: 293

Kettering: Corry, Matthews, Diuk, Brown, McCafferty, Gould, Solkhon, Burgess, Roberts, French, Paterson. Subs: DiFante, Heywood, Morley, Harris, McIlwain.

Poppies come from behind in League Cup

Kettering 4   Hinckley Utd 2

Kettering Town came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat Hinckley Utd 4-2 in the Carthium Cup and advance to the Second Round stage in front of a sparse crowd at Rockinghham Road on Tuesday night.

Kettering took an early lead through Drew Roberts after just 3 minutes on the clock, but were pegged back when Dean Thomas pulled the Knitters level. Leigh Platnauer then put the visitors in front on 39 minutes, but the home side went into the break all square courtesy of an Ollie Burgess goal on the stroke of half-time.

Drew Roberts scored his second and Kettering's third to put the Poppies 3-2 up and before the visitors could counter again the match was settled with a goal by youngster Daniel Heywood with the final score 4-2.

Att: 284

Update: Kettering now face Nuneaton Borough in the next Round of the League Cup on Tuesday 30th November 2004 at Rockingham Road.

Poppies drawn at home in Trophy

Kettering Town have been drawn at home to Burscough in the Second Round of the FA Trophy. Burscough reached the Second Round after a narrow 2-1 home win over Guiseley on Saturday.

Winners of the FA Trophy in 2003, beating Tamworth 2-1 at Villa Park, The Linnets currently play in the Unibond League Premier Division after losing out to Bradford Park Avenue in last season's play-offs for the Conference North.

Second Round ties to be played on Saturday 27 November 2004

Burgess hat-trick puts Poppies in control at Newport

Newport County 0   Kettering Town 4

A closely fought first 45 minutes looked likely to end goaless until 5 minutes before the break when Daniel French scored only his second goal of the season to put Kettering 1-0 up at half-time.

Kettering came out for the second-half and immediately picked up where they left off in the first-half when Ollie Burgess made it 2-0 on 49 minutes. The home side were unable to find an answer to their visitors finishing in the 73rd minute when Ollie Burgess scored his second and Kettering's third to put the Poppies well in control at 3-0.

Even without Poppies top scorer Darren Lynch, who was out recovering from injury, Kettering fired in a fourth on 85 minutes and it was that man Ollie Burgess again, scoring his hat-trick and to put his side 4-0 up. A solid all-round performance.

Att: 528

Kettering: Corry, Matthews, McCafferty, Gould, Brown, Solkhon, Burgess, Diuk, Paterson, French, Roberts. Subs: DiFante(Roberts 81), Harris(Solkhon 86), Lazarus(Brown 86),

Wilson continues shake-up

Jamie Kearns and Liam Folds were the latest two players to leave Rockingham Road as Poppies boss Kevin Wilson continues to reshape his squad in the quest for consistency after a string of poor results.

Following the recent departures of Liam Carson (to Corby Town) and Simon Underwood (to Stamford), Wilson is keen to further strengthen his squad, having already begun the rebuilding process with the recent addition of midfielder Jamie Paterson from Barrow.

With the added distraction of an away trip to Newport County in the FA Trophy 1st Round on Saturday, Wilson has just under two weeks before his side resume their Conference North campaign with an away match against Runcorn FC Halton on November 13th.

Poppies title challenge stalling

Kettering Town 0  Ashton Utd 0

Brett Solkhon, still recovering from a back injury is rested, with Poppies boss Kevin Wilson making just one change from Tuesday's starting lineup. Rob Gould comes off the substitutes bench to start and takes the place of Jamie Kearns.

Kettering's title challenge seems to have stalled after today's goaless draw at home to struggling Ashton Utd gives them just 2pts from their last 3 games. Despite the recent surge up the table into second spot, Kevin Wilson's men seem unable to produce the consistent results needed to take over at the top.

A defeat and two draws from their last three league matches leaves the Poppies several matches ahead of their nearest rivals without the points cushion to show for it. Poppies boss Kevin Wilson will need to see a solid return in points leading up to the festive period if his side are to remain near the top going into the second-half of the season.

Att: 954

Kettering: Corry, Diuk, Brown, McIlwain, McCafferty, Gould, Folds, Burgess, Roberts, Lynch, Paterson. Subs: DiFante, Kearns, French, Lazarus, Matthews.