Men's 3rds win their final pre-season match

Kettering travelled to Northampton to take on old rivals, Saints 6, in their final pre-season friendly.

Harry Tanser made his first appearance of the season and goalkeeper Brendan Read also made his debut after re-joining the club.

Kettering started the game in a controlled fashion, confidently keeping possession throughout the team. Gradually they asserted their authority and took the lead after 15 minutes. Adam Mills showed great strength and determination down the left hand side and his cross found Tanser in the circle. He finished with customary aplomb. The visitors nearly double their lead with a good short corner strike from Ben York but it was too high.
After 25 minutes, Kettering's dominance resulted in another goal. Skipper Neil Manley caught the home defence napping with a quickly-taken free hit and his cross found Ned Wilson in space. His initial shot was blocked but he calmly slotted away the rebound.

In the second half, Kettering looked to press home their advantage. They played great possession hockey with Jacob Tattersall impressing in a central midfield role and Tom Storey a constant threat down the right flank. The forward line of Wilson, Tanser and Ethan Smart all had chances but a mixture of good goalkeeping and profligacy kept the score at 2-0. At the other end, Graham Smart and Phil Coward calmly marshalled the Kettering defence and ensured a clean sheet was maintained. Tom Ward saw his shot cleared off the line from a short corner routine.

All in all, a very composed and controlled performance by Kettering. Next week they start their league campaign when Cambridge South 5 are the visitors.