Men's 3rd XI comprehensively beat Wisbech 4ths

Kettering travelled to Wisbech to play their fourths in the last away trip of the season. The visitors were keen not to let complacency set in and they got the dream start. From a short corner routine, Neil Freeman switched the ball to Andy Bull who calmly slotted home from close range. Unfortunately for Kettering, they went off the boil slightly and a few passes went astray. After 15 minutes, they rediscovered their touch. Hal Robinson cut the ball back to captain Neil Manley who fired in a cross to the back post where Frazer Cairns was on hand to provide the finishing touch. A few minutes later, the visitors scored again after a superb flowing move. From their own half, Kettering moved downfield with one-touch passes from Jacob Tattersall and Robinson. Mark Hawkins was released down the right wing and his cross was finished off with aplomb by Tattersall.
Midway through the half, Josh Cox made a probing run along the baseline and his pass enabled Hawkins to finish neatly in front of goal. Kettering continued to dominate and they used the whole pitch to spread the home defence. Ben Mayes launched an attack down the left and he passed into Bull who received the ball with his back to goal. The striker cleverly scored with his reverse-stick past the onrushing goalkeeper. With time running out in the half, Bull drove into the circle and when the keeper came out, the on-form forward lifted the ball into the far corner of the goal.

At the start of the second-half, Kettering conceded a rare goal. A long ball was crashed into the circle and an astute deflection left goalkeeper Sam Berridge with no chance. It was a good finish but the Kettering defenders would have been disappointed that they allowed the ball to reach the forward in the first place.
This spurred Kettering into action and they responded straight away. Harry Chambers crossed in from the left and Tattersall produced a moment of class to release Bull with a sublime first-time lay-off. Bull did the business and scored with his reverse-stick. A few minutes later, Bull got his fifth of the match. Cox, Robinson & Hawkins combined to set up the striker and he calmly shot across the keeper into the far corner of the goal. The onslaught continued and Cox set up speedster Finn Smith to score the goal his overall play deserved. With 15 minutes remaining, the excellent Ben Smith progressed from his defensive position and fired in a ball to the back post where Cairns was waiting to gleefully complete his brace.
Kettering were determined to keep the pressure on and they were still working hard. Bull chased down a seemingly lost cause and harried a Wisbech defender into a mistake. The veteran's cross was controlled by Tattersall who applied a neat finish to make it 11-1. With seconds left on the clock, the ball was played up to Hawkins in the right hand corner of the pitch. The forward displayed his customary skills and when the keeper came out, Hawkins sold him a dummy and lifted the ball towards goal. Cairns once again showed his nose for goal and he applied the finishing touch to complete his hat-trick.

All in all, a great team performance from a young squad featuring nine under-18 players. Next week, Kettering complete their league campaign when they entertain Cambridge Nomads 3.