Narrow loss for Mens 3rd XI

Kettering played their first match in the East against an experienced St Neots 5th XI after the walkover from the previous week.

Both teams were evenly matched with Kettering enjoying good spells of possession but not really threatening the St Neots goal.
The home side didn’t create any opportunities of note until the 26th minute, when from a short corner a shot from the edge gave St Neots, the lead. St Neots almost doubled their lead within a minute, but after a driving run from the centre of the park, a shot going well wide was deflected close to the back post.

Ben Smith and Ben York were playing well down the wings, busy in attack and defence but Kettering struggled to create clear cut chances for Tom Sheffield and Dan Carter.

The second half continued in much the same vain,. In the 12th minute of the second half, St Neots scored a second when an unfortunate error in defence led to a really scruffy finish that keeper Gareth Tasker was unable to keep out.

For a period of about 15 minutes, Kettering really exerted a lot of pressure. Phil Coward was surging forward from defence and Mike Ramsay was keeping the opposition centre midfielder at bay.

Several short corners were awarded to the visitors but unfortunately none could be converted.

In the 23rd minute of the second half, Kettering created their best chance of the game, Phil Coward driving from deep into the ‘D’, but putting his shot wide.

All in all, much for Kettering to build upon. Hopefully some returning players will bolster the attacking options for next week's home match versus St Ives 5th XI.