Championies, Championies olé olé olé

Kettering sealed the Div 3NW title with a hard fought win under the lights against a spirited Cambridge City Veterans team but the game will be remembered for the final three minutes.

Up until that point Kettering had generally been in control. A number of good saves by the City keeper kept them in the game early on until Jack Bridges scored from an Andy Sellers pass. Half time 1-0.
City equalised at the start of the second half with a well worked short corner. Kettering kept on the front foot as befits the League’s leading scorers and eventually took the lead through leading scorer Grant Carlin. Ross Mathieson made the result fairly safe with ten minutes to go then came the moment.
Kettering stalwart Tom Sellers, who last played a first team game for Kettering in 1991 had been added to the squad hoping to get a moment of pitch time with son, Andrew and grandson Lewis. Three generations all playing at the same time in a first team game. Tom managed to sneak himself on with three minutes to go just as Kettering won a short corner. Surely it couldn’t happen. Andrew injects the short corner, Lewis traps it at the top of the D and Tom only goes and smashes it into the bottom corner. Cue wild scenes. You really couldn’t make it up. Woe betide anyone who mentions this to Tom over the next few years! One touch, one goal.
A fantastic finish to the season even if Kettering’s performance didn’t reach the heights of previous week’s. The team know they have lots of work to do in the close and pre season in preparation for a spin in Div 2N but they are ready for the fight. Tom is starting fitness training this week!!
At the start of the season a mid table position would have been deemed a decent result but to win 17 of 22 and score over 100 goals has been fantastic. The team would like to thank everyone who umpired or helped out in any way this season to make it one of the best seasons in recent (and not so recent) memory.
Skipper Ant Paton is stepping down after four years in charge where he has been pivotal in turning a pretty poor Midlands side into one that has now won back to back promotions in the East and will be playing at the highest level the Club has in years has had the confidence to blood many young players as they are the future of the Club.