Calculated Performance by Kettering

A great start to the league for the Men's First XI, with three points away from home and Hoggy well prepared for an exam several months away. Hopefully, Saturday's result is indicative of the season to come...

The game began and Kettering seemed a tad shaky, despite a fantastic warm-up, hitting the ball off the pitch whilst trying to transfer it around the back. A great save was required by Matt Coe to keep things even. After a period of end-to-end play, Kettering scored two almost identical goals - a strong tackle, a series of short, sharp passes up the pitch; a piercing run by Wallace Cairns to the back-post: 0 - 1. Rinse and repeat, except Tom Storey poked it in the second time around. Two excellent counter-attacks; Sutton were left frustrated. In fairness, they were overheard at half-time calling them "two well-executed far-post goals" - it's always nice to impress the opposition. Jacques Lourens scored Kettering's third, but a clean-sheet wasn't to be. A Sutton player found the ball in the 'D' and smuggled it past Coe, who aided the process by sort-of back-heeling it in. Sorry.

The second half was less eventful, the afternoon heat taking its toll on all. Kettering's two subs came in useful against Sutton's bare eleven. Lourens didn't fancy using the bench, though, and was greened twice. Lewis Pywell made it 1 - 4, with a reverse stick 'shot' (cross) that the Sutton keeper jumped out the way of as it snuck inside the near-post. A truly awful goal. Lourens was yellowed for getting clattered, so Kettering finished the game with 10 men. Not before conceding a second - a short-corner got a ridiculously lucky deflection that looped upwards, over the defence, and into the goal. 2 - 4. It was too little too late for the home team and the game ended 2 - 4 to Kettering.

MoM: Ross Mathieson

DoD: Jacques Lourens (for, well where to begin? - nearly beheading Paul in the warm-up, getting three cards, not paying his subs, having a beer before the game, the list goes on...)

Long Sutton's version of events can be found HERE