Poppies away to Cambridge City in FA Trophy 1st Round

Kettering Town were 'rewarded' for their convincing 2-0 FA Trophy win at Harrogate Town on Saturday with an away trip to Cambridge City, the 1st Round Proper tie is to be played on Saturday 15th December, 2007 with the winners receiving £4,000.

Cambridge City, who are currently lying in mid-table in the Blue Square South, reached the 1st Round with an impressive 4-1 away win at BSN outfit Solihull Moors.

Poppies win 2-0 at Harrogate Town - FA Trophy 3Q Round

Harrogate Town 0
Peat - sent off

Kettering Town 2
Rawle 8
Marna 88

Kettering Town take a short break from their BSN League campaign this Saturday when they travel to Wetherby Rd to face Harrogate Town in the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy.

Kettering have been 'sparring' with Harrogate for most of the season so far with the two sides jostling for the top spot in the BSN, but this will be the first time the two sides have actually met this season.

The match kicked off at Wetherby Rd with both sides settling into their game plan early, but it was Kettering who got straight down to business when Mark Rawle put them 1-0 up after just 8 minutes gone.

Worse was to come for the home side when Nathan Peat, who had earlier come on as a substitute received a straight red card from the referee and Harrogate were down to 10-men.

Half-time: Harrogate Town 0 Kettering Town 1

Goal-shy Poppies held at home to Alfreton Town - lose top spot

Kettering Town 1
Brown og 23

Alfreton Town 1
Cusworth 84

Kettering Town host Alfreton Town at the A-Line Arena today looking to continue their recent winning run that has seen them climb from third spot back to the top of the BSN table.

The home side should have increased their lead but a mixture of determined defending and poor finishing saw chances spurned by both Andy Hall and Mark Rawle. At the other end, Lee Harper had to be alert as the Reds countered and the home fans were relieved to see a close effort go wide of the upright.

Kettering had to rely on another own goal for their slender half-time lead, this time it was the unfortunate Anton Brown who turned the ball into his own net to the delight of the home supporters. Kettering will need to press home their advantage in the second-half if they are to stay top of the table at the end of today's play.

Half-time: Kettering Town 1 Alfreton Town 0

Graham fires Poppies back on top at Telford

AFC Telford Utd 0

Kettering Town 1
Graham 40

Kettering Town traveled to BSN newcomers AFC Teflord Utd trailing current leaders Harrogate Town by just 2pts having played one-third of the season so far. With the festive period fast approaching, consistency is the key to maintaining a realistic challenge for the single automatic promotion spot or failing that, qualifying for the play-offs.

A fairly fast start to the match with both sides settling in quickly and starting to probe their oppenents defences early on. Half-chances at either end and both goalkeepers needed to be alert to deny scoring opportunities throughout the first period. With Harper making an excellent save from a short back-pass.

Just when it looked like it was heading for a scoreless first-half the drama unfolded. First Telford had a goal disallowed by a raised flag and in the ensuing fallout the Bucks manager was dismissed from the bench to the stand by the referee.

To add insult to injury, just two minutes later, up popped Luke Graham in the box to slide home the ball and put Kettering 1-0 from a John Brady corner up with five minutes left until the break. The match looked poised at the break for further drama and action in the second period.

Half-time: AFC Telford Utd 0 Kettering Town 1

Poppies away to Harrogate Town in the FA Trophy 3Q Rnd

Kettering Town have the relatively tough task of beating current BSN leaders Harrogate Town to ensure their progress in this seasons FA Trophy, following Monday's draw and they'll have to travel to Whetherby Rd on Saturday 24th November 2007 to do it.

There are signs though that cracks are beginning to appear in the previously unbeaten league leaders armour following Harrogate's two defeats in-a-row, as they were first knocked out of the FA Cup 2-1 by local rivals Harrogate Railway and then suffered their first BSN defeat losing 1-0 at home to Alfreton Town.

The Trophy fixture will be the first meeting this season between the two sides currently occupying first and second places in the BSN table. It remains to be seen what the poistions will be when Harrogate travel to Kettering in early January 2008 and the Poppies make the return journey in mid-February 2008.

Poppies 1-0 narrow win at home to Blyth Spartans

Kettering Town 1
Christiansen og 18

Blyth Spartans 0

Kettering Town host Blyth Spartans at the A-Line Arena this Saturday with the main aim of trying to close the gap on unbeaten Blue Square North table toppers Harrogate Town. Kettering are without  David Bridges and Tommy Jazczun, but recent signing Gary Mills makes his BSN debut for the Poppies.

The home side got off to a great start, forcing the visitors defence into a conceding an own goal to go 1-0 up when Ben Christiansen turned the ball into his own net on 18 minutes. Despite the early advantage, the visitors battled away and chalked up 3 bookings in quick succession. Kettering have been unable to add to their slender lead despite having the lion's share of the possession, their final touch still remains elusive and at the break the score remained 1-0 to the Poppies.