Marna off as Poppies pegged back at Scarborough

Scarborough 1
Blott 46

Kettering Town 1
Westcarr 45
Marna - sent off 48

Kettering Town fielded almost the same starting lineup from Saturday's successful win at home over Droylsden, with the injured Marcel McKie being replaced by loan-signing John Dempster.

Settling quickly into their stride, the Poppies went straight on the attack and pressed the home side on the defensive from the kick-off, with Beadle booked for the Seadogs after just two seconds on the clock (his 10th yellow of the season). Despite almost one-way traffic for the first 20 minutes, Kettering still couldn't make the vital breakthrough and get an opening goal.

Poppies gain battling 1-0 victory over Droylsden

Kettering Town 1
Howe 77

Droylsden 0
Denham sent off 90

Kettering Town boss Morell Maison was able to field an unchanged starting lineup from last Saturday's narrow victory over Moor Green in today's vital home encounter with current leaders Droylsden. Loan-signing John Dempster joins the Poppies bench.

The Bloods are missing top scorer Terry Fearns due to flu. The kick-off was delayed for 10 minutes to allow the increased numbers of supporters to get into the ground to see this top of the table clash and no doubt also the return of Ron Atkinson whose presence also attracted the tv cameras.

The two sides made a cautious start with neither side able to commit forward the numbers and most of the early exchanges took part in the middle of the field in what started out as a rather scrappy encouter between the teams occupying first and second spot in the table.

As the match unfolded it began to open up a little more with both keepers dealing comfortably with long range efforts and the defences remained on top in the opening period of the match. A Westcarr strike from a free-kick made sure Phillips was alert on the half-hour mark as the Bloods keeper saved down low.

Atkinson back at the Poppies

Ron Atkinson has returned to Rockingham Road to once again be a part of the club he guided to success in the early 1970's, following the club's announcement on Tuesday morning that Big Ron has been appointed Director of Football at Kettering Town Football Club.

Atkinson's appointment comes somewhat out of the blue for the club's supporters but Poppies chairman Imraan Ladak expressed his delight at the return of Big Ron to the club, "It's a great appointment and a great opportunity to re-establish this club at the level it should be at" he told the ET.

Poppies win 2-1 away to Moor Green to go 2nd

Moor Green 1
Trainer 67

Kettering Town 2
Howe 19
Solkhon 24

Defender David Theobald was back in the starting lineup for today's league fixture which took a more familiar pattern as Craig Westcarr partnered Rene Howe up front, with Jean Black still out. Niel Midgley joined the bench alongside Serge Makofo and Liam Nicell.

Kettering settled down to business early on at Damson Park and were rewarded for their persistence after 19 minutes when top scorer Rene Howe put them 1-0 up with a solid header from a cross by Westcarr.

Just five minutes later Kettering were awarded a penalty kick and Marna's initial attempt was rebuffed, but the alert Brett Solkhon, who is pushing Howe on the scoring charts, netted the rebound to increase the Poppies lead to 2-0.

Poppies win through to FA Trophy 3rd Round

Kettering Town 3
Westcarr 3
McIlwain 64
Solkhon 84

Stalybridge Celtic 1
Ellington 42

Craig Westcarr got the home side off to a great start after just 3 minutes on his return to the Poppies starting lineup to put Kettering 1-0 up in this FA Trophy 2nd Round Replay at Rockingham Road. The Poppies continued to attack in earnest and only the offside flag denied them a second goal.

As Kettering continued to press for a second they were caught on the counter and inevitably it was Stalybridge top scorer Lee Ellington who scored to level the tie at 1-1. Despite Kettering having the lion's share of the chances, the two teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 as they headed to the changing rooms for the half-time break.

Poppies head for replay in FA Trophy 2nd Rnd

Stalybridge Celtic 1
Brodie 26

Kettering Town 1
Foster og 41

Morell Maison was forced to make several changes to the starting lineup and brought in Parys Okai and Andre Boucaud, with the welcome return of Graham Westcarr back from injury joining the Poppies bench.

Kettering took time to settle into the match with several key players out and the reshuffled team came under early pressure from Celtic during the first period. It was indeed the home team who scored first when Steve Brodie put them 1-0 up, but Kettering fought back and eventually equalised when Luke Foster put through his own goal just before the half-time break to leave the field at 1-1.

Inconsistent Poppies drop points at home to Worksop

Kettering Town 2
Solkhon 63
Marna 65

Worksop Town 2
Crane (pen) 40
Thompson 79

Liam Nicell came in for Marcel Mckie, but Jean-paul Marna recovered from his knock to start up front alongside Rene Howe. David Theobald and Jean Black also started their second matches since signing for the Poppies.

A fairly slow tempo start to the match with the home side battling against a strong wind and a determined Tigers defence and the Poppies were unable to find a way through in the first 30 minutes of the match. Kettering's lack of cohesion continued to plague them during the first period as the visitors took a 1-0 lead into the half-time break when they were awarded a penalty and Tony Crane stepped up to put the ball past Mark Osborn on 40 minutes.

Poppies win 4-0 at home to Leigh RMI

Kettering Town 4
Marna 7
Black 9
Caskey 77
Solkhon 81

Leigh RMI 0

Kettering Town boss Morell Maison thrust two new signings straight into the starting lineup at home to Leigh, with David Theobald, returning to Rockingham Road, joined by Jean Black. Andre Boucaud and Serge Makofo made way for the newcomers.

The home supporters were quickly on their feet as Jean-Paul Marna, also restored to the starting lineup today, struck early to put the Poppies 1-0 up on 7 minutes. No sooner had the two teams settled back down when Kettering increased their lead to 2-0 as Jean Black made it a scoring debut for the Poppies on 9 minutes.