Canaries wings clipped by “Hand of Pat”!

Sometimes when you’re bottom of the league you need a bit of luck, a good roll of the dice. Basement boys Norwich City, who suffered a 9-0 hammering at a Bury last weekend, initially lined up with a few ‘new faces’ to try to beat the long travelling Kettering. Good players all, but on the day, not quite good enough!
More of the actual game later but the match highlight was an act of skullduggery that will be mentioned in the Fens for years to come. It will be right up there with the national indignation of Maradona’s Hand of God. Small East Anglian children will be burning effigies of Pat Cawley on bonfire nights for years come. The scenario :- with time about up, Norwich on the attack just outside the Kettering 25 Cawley found himself in the thick of the action. On the ground, he managed to scoop the ball away with his hand. Under poor quality floodlights a very simple decision - play on! Gamesmanship definitely, would have take a card for the team, definitely a reflection of the winning mentality Kettering have now got, definitely.
Having found a lost Paul Donnelly on the way the team regrouped I. The changing rooms for tactics and scenarios. This was almost certainly the youngest league side Kettering have ever put out with 18 yr old Lewis Pywell a virtual veteran as six of his team mates were younger.
The game started with City putting Kettering under considerable pressure as their lively forwards gave Kettering limited options from the back. Adam Mills and Ross Mathieson held firm and Kettering eventually got a foothold in the game. Wallace Cairns missed a sitter and Vity bounced back with a swift counter attack ending with a clinical finish past a despairing dive from keeper Barry Coe.
Half time 1:0 and Kettering knew they had to dig deep. Jacques Lourens and Grant Carlin took up the cudgels in midfield and Early in the second half Cairns made up for his earlier miss. This was his first goal (of what will be many) at this level and with their tails up Kettering then took the lead when skipper Carlin finished from a well planned short corner routine. Chances came and went for the hosts forwards but they eventually equalised with ten to go following a short corner breakdown.
A clumsy tackle saw City reduced temporarily to ten men and this was the cue for Kettering to rally for the winner. Lourens was the man for the big occasion when he smashed a short corner in via the keeper. Kettering managed to see out the end of the game and claim another away victory. No water in the clubhouse saw a smelly Kettering side travel back to Northamptonshire pleased with their afternoons endeavours. This game was the half way stage in the league and Kettering can be pleased with their progress as they remain on the fringes of promotion but a team that the top sides fear
Next week sees a trip to high flying Bury.