Harborough flog Kettering

What an awful performance. Kettering's intensity, drive, and ruthlessness from Wednesday night was non-existent. Let's get to the point.

The first half was the worst; Kettering conceded almost immediately: Ed Jennings passed the ball to Ross Mathieson, who was already under pressure and didn't want the ball. He didn't do himself any favours, though, and dribbled himself into more trouble - getting dispossessed around the top of the 'D'. Only one thing was going to happen. 0 - 1. Kettering looked minutes and miles off the pace. Harborough's second goal came from a short-corner; a drag-flick straight down the middle - Matt Coe thought it was going left. It wasn't. Not at all. 0 - 2. The misery didn't end there. Harborough scored their third and final goal from a drive along the right base-line. The ball was smashed across the goal and was poked in. It was the kind of thing you practice at the training ground. 0 - 3. Kettering did manage to get one back though, captain Grant Carlin scoring from a short-corner. 1 - 3. And so the half petered out.

At least the second-half saw a mild improvement in Kettering's performance - without any tangible evidence, though. Things got a bit rougher. James Hogg was given a green for a poor tackle. As was Michael Crane. After coming back on, Crane didn't think his rest had been long enough, made another crunching tackle - yellow card. Kettering had half-chances at best and did spend a large portion of the half defending. Ball retention was ghastly. Kettering's defence proved good enough in the end, with the half not seeing a goal from either side. So, the game ended 1 - 3. Whatever reasons and excuses there are for such a woeful performance, a vast amount of work is needed to be a decent force in the league, beginning next week.

MoM: Ed Jennings

DoD: Michael Crane (for seeming to forget that he'd left Market Harborough and was playing for Kettering now)