Kettering Mens 2s 2 - 0 Kettering Ladies 1s

Still high from last year's victory, the champions of East League: 5 North West AKA: the Kettering men's second team's first pre-season friendly against the club's ladies first team ended with a two-nil victory to the good in a game of three twenty-minute thirds and also marked a strong debut for several new faces for the second team.
With tactics and formation thoroughly organised the evening before the game, KM2s set out with a clear game-plan and the aim of the first third of the match was to get a feel for the formation and build confidence after a long break. However, a shaky first ten-minutes were testing for KM2s, with several short-corners being conceded, though they were dealt with quickly by the defence - two of the 'new-boys' to the team, young Adam Mills and Michael Lavender, running out and putting pressure on the ladies well. Recovery from KM2s was gradual, but confidence grew throughout the third and several chances to put KM2s ahead either went wide or well defended by the ladies. 0 - 0 at the whistle.
A confab in the new 'dugout' dissected the problems and the positives of the third and KM2s took to the field again. The second third was all KM2s: the defence played the ball around expertly and in a 'Guardiola-esque' manner and lots of work from the midfield and forward line resulted in a large number of chances. Oliver Smith managed to slot away two of his numerous chances to put KM2s deservedly on top. Lots of legwork from the returned Andy Bull and second-team debutant Wallace Cairns consistently cut open the opposition defence, but the score remained 2 - 0.
During the final third of the game, the simple objective was POSSESSION - it was time to kill the game and get even-more used to playing the ball around. The spectators wouldn't have realised this, though, as the ladies pressed forward and a tackle from Mills close to time and goal resulted in a yellow card for the youngster and a short-corner to the oppo. It was dealt with well and Kettering enjoyed some extended periods with the ball until the final whistle., ending the game at 2 - 0 to the good.
The ladies proved tough to break down, but, unlike last season, KM2s managed to do it which makes the tough games against opponents better than last year seem less daunting - bring on Saints 3s!