Men's 3rd XI blown away along with the cobwebs

Kettering travelled to play a friendly match against a mixture of Rugby 4ths and 5ths and with the aim of getting back into the swing of things after the festive break.
The hosts enjoyed a greater amount of possession but Kettering looked dangerous on the break with the pace of Andy "Old Hand" Bull, Finn Smith and Harry Tanser up front.
Rugby took the lead from a short corner with a tap in at the back post and they doubled their lead about halfway through the first period. Kettering were agonisingly close to halving the deficit when Tanser rounded the keeper but saw his shot come back off the post. Bull was clean through on goal after expertly controlling an aerial pass from Mark Hawkins but the pass was mystifyingly deemed dangerous by the umpire. Towards the end of the half, Rugby grabbed another goal to give themselves a three-goal cushion which flattered them a bit.

Kettering started the second half brightly and Tanser nearly scored but he couldn't control his reverse-stick shot after a great mazy run. Rugby then put themselves in total control with a couple of quick goals.
Kettering heads went down after that and the hosts were rampant. Kettering couldn't come to terms with the attacking formation used by Rugby who always seemed to have players in space. They ran in a further five goals to make it 10-0. The game was marred by a nasty injury to Jake Coleman when a lifted shot from a penalty corner smashed his finger. We all hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Next week, Kettering return to league action when they entertain the 4th team.