We said it needed to be like the Alamo and certainly Saturday’s hard-fought encounter 1-0 victory against Bromsgrove Sporting  has set us up for a cracking game under the lights at Latimer Park today where we entertain Alvechurch for another Southern League Premier Central fixture, kick off at 19:45.

Alvechurch is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1068 and whilst the football club was founded in 1929 and played in the local park prior to a move to Lye Meadow, the town boosts a few famous inhabitants namely Godfrey Baseley, creator of The Archers, Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham, Fay Weldon, a novelist and Alan Smith, who scored the winning goal for Arsenal in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup final played for Alvechurch F.C.

The Church, suffered a disappointing away 2-1 defeat at Banbury United on Saturday despite taking the lead in the sixty-eighth minute only to concede a ninety-six-minute winner. This defeat, with only two wins in their last ten games, highlights the difficult patch of form that Alvechurch are experiencing following a promising start to the season. With no wins in five, The Church have achieved one draw (1-1 Needham Market at home) and four defeats (0-1 versus Redditch United;  3-4 at home to Real Bedford; 1-2 at home against Stourbridge and the result against Banbury United). This leaves Alvechurch, managed by ex-Poppy Kyle Storer, six places below KTFC in seventeenth place just  above the relegation zone on goal difference, with sixteen points separating the teams with the former having played one game more. In the form league, they reside in twentieth place with a solitary one point from their previous five games. However, they are in a creditable twelfth place in the comparative away standings having achieved eighteen points from sixteen games with only two away wins most notably beating Quorn 0-1 at the end of January.

For the Poppies, no additions to the squad at the time of going to press and no reports of injuries at this juncture following Saturday’s bruising encounter.

KTFC are unbeaten in our past six games (1-0 at home to Bromsgrove; 2-0 at home against Stratford Town; an away 1-1 draw versus Stourbridge; 1-3 away against St Ives; 1-3 away against Needham Market and 0-2 away at Bishop’s Stortford) scoring twelve and conceding three. The Poppies have only lost twice in our past ten games.

Kettering are the in-form team as they lead the league’s form table taking thirteen points from a possible fifteen in our past five matches but are twelfth in the overall home table securing twenty-four points from thirteen games. With other play-off contenders winning, the Poppies recent exceptional form leaves the Club frustratingly residing in eleventh place with forty-eight points, seven points off the playoff places with three games in hand on current fifth placed Redditch United.   

Today’s matches provides an opportunity for teams to capitalise on their games in hand, with Stratford entertaining Halesowen and Bishop’s Stopford travelling to second placed Harborough Town.  

Alvechurch defeated a disjointed Poppies side 2-0 on 11 October 25 conceding two 90+ goals in the corresponding away fixture earlier in the season. With eleven games left to play, seven at home, the task of securing a play-off place seems daunting but on paper tantalisingly achievable. However, there are some tough games left against current top five teams (Quorn and Real Bedford), the chasing pack (six pointers against Banbury and Halesowen) mid table (Worcester City, Stratford and Bury) together with relegation dog fights (Alvechurch, AFC Sudbury x2 and Barwell) so let’s get behind Liam and the team today to secure three points.

Enjoy the game.

                                                                         ALVECHURCH

Season        V        Comp           F-A     Att:   Poppies Scorers

2018-19        H        ESLSPC       1-2     1567   Stanley

          A        ESLSPC       3-1     359    Hoenes.2 (1p), Towers

2023-24        H        PISLPC        2-0     783    Yussuf.2

                     A        PISLPC        1-1     321    Miller

2024-25        H        PISLPC        2-1     859    York, Noel-Williams

                     A        PISLPC        1-0     363    Miller

2025-26        A        PISLPC        0-2     643

POPPIES WINS:              4                             GOALS FOR:                     10

THE CHURCH WINS:       2                             GOALS AGAINST:               7

DRAWS                           1

POPPIES STATS: 

Highest home win:               2-0    2023-24 (PISLPC)

Highest away win:               3-1    2018-19 (ESLSPC)

Highest home defeat:         1-2    2018-19 (ESLSPC)

Highest away defeat:         0-2    2025-26 (PISLPC)

Highest home attendance: 1569   2018-19 (ESLSPC)

Lowest home attendance:   783    2023-24 (PISLPC)

Highest away attendance:  643    2025-26 (PISLPC)

Lowest away attendance:  321    2022-24 (PISLPC)

Most goals in a game for the Poppies v Alvechurch (2)

Rhys Hoenes (2018-19), Adi Yussuf (2023-24)

Most goals in career against Alvechurch (2)

Rhys Hoenes, Adi Yussuf, Luca Miller

Played for both clubs (14)

Steve Stott, Nick Wright, Orrin Pendley, Michael McGrath, Kyle Perry, Khaellem Bailey-Nicholls, Dan Jezeph, Kobe Chong, Kemy Agustien, Omari Sterling-James, Sam McLintock, Kyle Storer, Connor Stanley, Archie Crowther.

Managers (1)

Kyle Storer

Poppies players who have scored against Kettering Town (1)

Archie Crowther      2024-25 (h)

Alvechurch players sent off v Kettering Town (1)

Mackenzie Lamb     2023-24 (a)

League debuts (2)

Anthony Stewart      2025-26 (a)

Micah Anthony        2025-26 (a)

ALVECHURCH

Manager                           Kyle Storer

Ground                             Lye Meadow

Nickname                         The Church

Position in League           17^th – 32pts from 31 games

Top league scorer            5 – Obadeyi, Wakefield

FORM

POPPIES                WWDWW     13pts

The Church             LLDLL           1pt

THE CHURCH SO FAR….