Poppies held to a draw by Rangers youngsters

Kettering Town acquitted themselves admirably against a young Rangers squad and even led the Glasgow outfit 2-0 until midway through the second-half when the usual changes in personnel on both sides led to a comeback from the visitors that ended with a 2-2 scoreline.

Jon Brady made his first start for the Poppies and was a notable presence for the home side until tiring later in the match. The Australian midfielder crossed for Mark Rawle to score the Poppies opener and the recent signing then scored his second goal from a David Bridges through ball that put Kettering 2-0 up going into the half-time break.

Following several changes in both lineups, the combination of the home side fading and the Rangers youngsters stepping up a gear produced a comeback that started on 70 minutes with a penalty. Steven Lennon slotted home from the spot to reduce the deficit to 2-1 and with just two minutes left on the clock an excellent strike from 25yds from William McLachlan saw the visitors finish level at the final whistle.

Poppies boss Mark Cooper was well pleased with his charges for most of the first hour, but ultimately disappointed that they eased off and allowed their visitors to fight their way back into the match and deny Kettering what would have been their first win of the preseason campaign.

Kettering make the short trip to play UCL outfit Burton Park Wanderers on Wednesday evening, kick-off 7pm.

Poppies v Posh washed out

The preseason friendly between Kettering Town and Peterborough Utd was called off due to the waterlogged pitch at the A-Line Stadium on Thursday night.

Kettering's next match in their preseason programme is at home to Scottish Premiership side Glasgow Rangers XI on Sunday, kick-off 3pm.

Poppies well-beaten by Boro'

Poppies boss Mark Cooper will have plenty to think about following his sides 4-1 defeat by today's visitors Stevenage Borough at the A-Line Stadium. Although it was only a preseason friendly and the actual result hardly matters, it doesn't bode well when the underlying performance matches the scoreline.

The first-half was fairly even as both sides had chances but neither side made the telling breakthrough and the match remained scoreless at the break. The second-half saw the usual plethora of changes, including a switch between the posts for the Poppies.

The Football Conference Blue Square Premier outfit began to gain the upper-hand and the goals flowed, unfortunately for the home fans they were flowing from the visitors and into the Kettering net. Confusion over the second-half formation and tactics led to an eventual one-sided scoreline of 4-1, with Kettering's consolation goal coming from a penalty by (who else) Craig Westcarr.

With three weeks left to the start of the season, Cooper will use the remaining preseason fixtures to assess the merits of his squad and the possibilities of them coping with the manager's preferred formation, something that caused a lot of problems for his predecessor during last season's campaign.

Next up at the A-Line Stadium on Thursday are Football League Two side Peterborough Utd with the expected return of last season's top scorer for Poppies, Rene Howe.

Poppies lose 1-0 to Cobblers in preseason friendly

Kettering Town were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Football League One outfit and near-neighbours Northampton Town last night in the Poppies second preseason friendly match.

A second-half header from Andy Holt shortly before the hour mark was enough to earn visitors Northampton a slender victory in front of 901 spectators at the A-Line Stadium. Both sides rotated their squad liberally in the second period which saw more action than a quieter first period as the two teams settled slowly into the match.

Mark Cooper had his second chance to get a better look at some of his recent signings as well as the retained Poppies players in a fairly competitive atmosphere against their league neighbours who also had several recent signings out to impress their boss Stuart Gray.

The Poppies next match is the preseason friendly at home to Stevenage Borough on Saturday 21st July, kick-off 3pm.

Ex-Premiership players turn out for Poppies in A-Line tournament

Ex-Premiership and International footballers played alongside Poppies hopefuls in the A-Line Tournament held at the club on Sunday and the fans who turned up to watch saw the somewhat surrealistic sight of players like Zola, Festa, Karembeu and Ferdinand wearing the colours of their beloved Kettering Town.

Kettering won their first match against Rothwell Town 3-1 with goals coming from Ferdinand, Westcarr and a trademark Gianfranco Zola free-kick. In the other semi-final, St. Albans beat Hemel Hempsted on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

The final saw Poppies narrowly defeated 1-0 by St. Albans and the club unveiled their new strips for the coming season, including a Black strip sponsored by the charity Wateraid.

Poppies go down 3-1 to Ipswich in first preseason fixture

Kettering Town hosted Championship outfit Ipswich Town in their first official preseason fixture at the A-Line Stadium and the League side were too much for the Poppies in the second-half as they came back from a goal deficit to win 3-1.

As expected Kettering had a number of trialists on display as well as nearly all their summer signings and fielded almost two entirely different teams in each half of the match. The visitors put the Poppies goal under pressure in the first-half but Cameron Belford in the Poppies goal kept them at bay along with his hard-working defenders.

Kettering took the lead against the run of play with a well-taken goal by Craig Westcarr on 30 minutes as the Poppies striker gave the Ipswich keeper no chance to react to make it 1-0 to the delight of the home crowd. The lead lasted until 10 minutes into the second-half as the visitors once again applied the pressure.

George O'Callaghan netted the equaliser on 55 mins and two further goals in a two minute spell wrapped up the scoring. Billy Clarke on 70 mins and Michael Synott on 72 mins saw the visitors run out comfortable 3-1 wnners on the night watched by 639 spectators.

Blue Square North 2007-08 Fixtures announced

The fixtures for the 2007-08 season in the Blue Square North have now been announced and Kettering Town kick-off the new campaign with an away fixture to Stalybridge Celtic on Saturday 11th August, 2007. The Poppies first home game will be just two days later on the 13th August against Hucknall Town, which is of course a Monday.

The club announced that most of the Poppies midweek home matches will be played on a Monday this season, " this is among other reasons to avoid clashes with the Champions League fixtures". The regular season stretches into May with the final league match being a home game against Gainsborough Trinity on Saturday May 3rd 2008.

Kettering's traditional 'derby' fixtures over the festive period, Boxing day - New Year's Day, are strangely against Solihull Moors (formerly Moor Green). A shame really as any of the following six clubs Boston Utd, Nuneaton Borough, Tamworth, Worcester City, AFC Telford or Hinckley Utd would undoutably all have produced larger crowds at that time of year.

Some consolation however are the August Bank Holiday Monday home fixture against Tamworth and the Easter Bank Holiday Monday away fixture to Boston Utd. A full list of all the 2007-08 season fixtures, including pre-season matches, can be found on the KTFC fixtures page.

Cooper signs two strikers

Poppies manager Mark Cooper has signed two strikers, in the wake of the departure of Rene Howe, Mark Rawle and Steve Burton join recent signing Tom Kemp as a flurry of activity kicks in before the start of the pre-season which kicks-off Thursday week with the visit of Ipswich Town.

Mark Rawle is well-known to Poppies fans and scored the solitary winner for Alfreton Town in Kettering's final league match of last season. Steve Burton was signed by Cooper while he was in charge at Tamworth but the big striker didn't see much action after being sidelined through injury.

Cooper summed up his new charges; "Both strikers are big, strong and quick which are essential attributes and will blend in well with Westcarr. The latest two signings really attack in the box and are good in the air or on the floor. They also have plenty of experience and have done it at a higher level. It’s a good blend but all have pace and are a handful to play against.”

Howe departs Poppies as others join

Kettering Town top striker Rene Howe has moved to Peterborough Utd for an 'undisclosed fee' the club announced with Poppies chairman Imraan Ladak explaining the depature of last season's top scorer: "We were receiving offers for Rene throughout the January window and the interest has stepped up since the end of the season. In an ideal world we would have loved to have kept him here but that would have been unfair to Rene - this is a very good move for him. We could not stand in the way of his career and I wish him well. He has been great for us and I hope Peterborough is another stepping stone for him."

The young striker now gets his chance to progress his career in the Football League and had this to say about the Poppies fans during his time at Rockingham Road: "I would like to thank the fans for their support and encouragement last season. They were unbelievable. It's going to be strange playing against Kettering in pre-season but I'm glad I'll get the chance to come back and say goodbye to everyone properly. Everyone knows how much I loved it here but it's a great opportunity for me to further my career and I hope the supporters understand this. I will always be a Kettering fan after the time I spent here."

The vast majority of Poppies fans will certainly be sad to see Howe leave but understand the desire for the young striker to further his career and wish him all the best in the Football League.

Howe's partner up front last season, Craig Westcarr, has finally agreed tearms and will remain at Kettering for the coming season and will be joined by Poppies manager Mark Cooper's latest signing, defender Tom Kemp. The former Lambs defender was under Cooper at Tamworth and joins Kettering from Football Conference outfit Grays Athletic .