Men's 3rd XI comprehensively beat Ely City 3rd XI

Kettering entertained Ely City 3rds on a cold, crisp afternoon and looked to dominate their visitors from the outset. They had the lions share of possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances. A flurry of short corners were awarded but they came to nothing. Finally, midway through the first half, Nick Cusk took matters into his own hands and scored from a well-placed short corner flick. The second came from Mark Hawkins after good work by Josh Cox down the left wing. The youngster threaded a pass through to Hawkins who beat a couple of defenders to finish from a tight angle.
Kettering tails were up now and defender Ben Smith made a surging run down the right wing. He put in an early cross that was bobbling around but that didn't deter Jacob Tattersall who adroitly controlled a first-time volley into the goal. With time running out in the first-half, Cusk scored with another flicked short-corner, this one skilfully placed into the top corner of the goal.

The home side started the second half determined not to take their foot off the accelerator pedal and they scored three quick goals courtesy of striker Andy Bull. The Ely defence couldn't cope with the pace, power and determination of the forward as he bagged a hat-trick within the space of 15 minutes. Hawkins pulled the strings in midfield, helped by youngster Hal Robinson who impressed once again.
At the other end, defender Gary Thorpe was sin-binned for a deliberate foul in the circle and Ely converted the penalty-flick with aplomb.

This was just a temporary break in the direction of traffic as Cusk completed his hat-trick with a short corner strike that was deflected past the helpless Ely keeper. Wallace Cairns got the goal his play deserved as he cut in from the left, beat a couple of defenders and then slotted his shot into the bottom corner. Neil Freeman completed the scoring as he took over the shooting duties at short corners. The veteran defender picked his spot and fired a shot into the bottom corner to make the final score 10-1.

Next week, Kettering have a break from league action and play an intra-club friendly.