Narrow loss against Cambridge South 5

Kettering Men's 3rd XI entertained Cambridge South 5 in a friendly match and suffered a 4-2 reverse. However, there were plenty of positive aspects to the performance.

12-year olds Ethan Smart and Tom Storey made their senior debuts and goalkeeper Alistair Brooking played only his second match. Another youngster, Adam Mills, felt like a senior pro with half-a-dozen or so games under his belt!

In the early stages, Storey showed some good link up play down the right which led to a chance for Peter Wenje, returning to the side. Unfortunately for Kettering, his shot from a narrow angle was blocked by the keeper.
The next chance fell to another returning player, Tim McDowell. He was picked out at the top of the circle by captain Neil Manley but his shot was agonisingly wide of the post.

Cambridge South were a young and energetic side, although somewhat unorthodox in their tackling approach. They were particularly effective on the break and took the lead when they converted a penalty corner chance. Ten minutes later they doubled their advantage, again from a short corner strike.

Kettering tried to reassert themselves at the start of the second half but conceded a soft goal when an opportunity to clear the defensive lines was squandered.

However, the youthful Kettering team were determined to get back into the game. Veteran Tony Heath slipped a pass invitingly into the path of Manley who duly fired past the stranded Cambridge goalie. Minutes later the second goal came. McDowell showed great skill and tenacity to create a scoring chance for himself. His shot was half-cleared but Wenje scored with a rocket of a shot following a neat turn.

The Kettering youngsters played very well and were not put off by some crude challenges. Smart was unlucky that his deflected shot was too close to the keeper and his reverse stick effort was narrowly off-target.

To their credit, Cambridge South weathered the Kettering storm and sealed their victory with a shot into the corner of the goal five minutes from time.

Next week, Kettering travel to Ely with hopes of extending their winning run in the league.