Dreary Day Ends in a Dreary Result

After a positive start to their league campaign last week Kettering were hopeful of following this up with their first home game of the season. However, Kettering's lackadaisical start to the game was soon punished by a switched on, fast opposition, who scored their first goal within the first few minutes of starting in the way of unstoppable strike from a penalty corner. Kettering needed to dig deep but couldn't quite find the linking passes and by half time found themselves 4-0 behind the visitors.
At half time the decision to change the formation and the movement of players positions meant that Kettering started the second half with a much brighter approach, scoring within the first few minutes after some fantastic link up play down the right side of the pitch ending with a cross from Sophie Reynolds to set up Mandy Starsmore-Young with a tap in on the right post. This gave Kettering the confidence they needed to continue to press and they were soon rewarded with a penalty corner where Sophie Reynolds emphatically finished from close range once the ball rebounded from the goal keepers pads.
Kettering continued to work hard and the new system seemed to be working with better organisation in defence controlled by Kate Randle and Jess Austin. When Nottingham Uni did manage to break through the defensive line, Kate Metcalfe in goal pulled off some wonder saves to keep the score line down. Unfortunately tiredness set in, accompanied by a down pour of rain and Kettering were punished in the last few minutes by a further 2 goals from a penalty corner and a harsh penalty stroke decision. Whilst the final score line wasn't the desirable outcome, there are positives for the ladies to draw from, especially when we consider that the second half score line was a draw against a very good opposition.