Kettering 13-0 Spalding 3

On paper it was a top versus bottom clash and on the pitch it turned out to be exactly that. Kettering travelled to the Fens with teh sole intention of coming home with three points to keep up their promotion charge. That aim was effectively achieved within the first eight minutes as a Grant Carlin double, both identical finishes at the far post gave the hosts a mountain to climb. Andy Sellers maintained his goal rush with the third and Dom Cusk capped a fine first half performance with a some great runs and a poachers goal, reacting first to a short corner that hit the post. Ross Mathieson bundled home a short corner breakdown and Jack Bridges completed the first half scoring to leave the visitors six up.
Credit to the young Spalding outfit who worked really hard throughout the game, especially their goalie who has performed heroically in two heavy defeats, but they were unable to stem the white tide although they created a few opportunities as Kettering pushed forward. The second half saw a further seven goals as Carlin double his total, Mathieson scored again and Bridges also doubled up. With Pat Cawley taking the season's goal tally to 99 it was a question of who would get the century and Cawley answered this emphatically one minute later with his second. At 13yrs 5 months Ethan Smart became what must be Kettering's youngest ever first team league scorer when he coolly rounded the keeper and smashed the ball home to complete the baker's dozen.
With 6 under 18s in the squad Kettering are well set for the future as well as the present.
Next week sees a Super Saturday in 3NW. Kettering play a resurgent Cambridge City Vets but the other promotion contenders play each other is a round of games that could have a serious bearing on the final table.

Spalding's brief, yet complimentary, version of events is HERE