After last weekend’s point a Cambridge Kettering stepped up again to gain a home point from a very good Pelicans outfit.

A full 16 home players took to the pitch for a warm up which involved Sam nearly decapitated keeper Barry. 16 swiftly became 15 when Ant, after much deliberation about whether to use his shiny new stick, tweaked his back in the first two minutes. Fortunately he was able to spend the rest of the game in our shiny new dugouts. Pelicans had a good blend of youth (up front) and experience (at the back) , much like ourselves and proved a much sterner test than Camb City. The early stages saw Kettering press and created a number of half chances. Pelicans pacy forwards were restricted by Paul and skipper Dean, aided by a combination of Mark, Jamie and Ben.
Kettering drew first blood with a really well worked goal. Transferring the ball smartly across the pitch Darren found Aman, whose arcing run took him past the full back. His lifted cross was expertly dispatched by Sam. Half time 1-0.
Pelicans regrouped and came out flying in the second half. A combination of Kettering perhaps being too high gave their runners space. Their equaliser came courtesy of an unstoppable volley that Barry barely saw let attempt tried to save! Two minutes later they took the lead, Barry made a save but didn’t know where the ball was ( under his pad) and a Pelican forward found it before Kettering’s defenders and fired home from close range. Pelicans saw a green but Kettering were unable to take advantage but parity was restored when a ball from Andy saw Sam free in the D and, after creating a bit of space, slotted the ball home. Kettering went down briefly to 9 after Kethan thought he had been greened for a foul and walked off but it was actually to Paul for what the crowd described as “a proper Corby tackle” earlier in the play. Dean also saw green very late on for breaking down a promising attack. The game finished with Pelicans being awarded a short corner and, while bench feared the worst, the defence held firm and honours were even.
MoM was Aman for setting up the first goal. DoD was Paul for his filthy tackle but in his absence the washing up (and there was lots of it) was done by Charlie ( putting shin pad on upside down) and Sam (always check the sender of a WhatsApp isn’t a junior player’s mum rather than a fellow player before sending a rude reply - fear not safeguarding team he has apologised in person).
Last year we would have probably lost this game so it shows the progress that has been made. No wins but still unbeaten against what we think are probably two of the better teams in the league. Onwards and upwards, Cambridge South next week at fortress Bishop in a 1pm encounter.