Royston Town  v  Kettering Town

Pitching in Southern League Premier Division Central

Saturday  9th August 2025   3:00 pm

Referee: Stuart Lathan       Assistants:  Peter Kwak  and Ralph Sackington

A new season, and as it is becoming customary for Kettering a new team, and for this season also a new manager. The game would see Simon Hollyhead taking charge in his second competitive game in the manager’s post, the first being the Hillier Senior Cup game at Moulton. Only three players of the starting XI appeared for Kettering last season, Jamar Loza, Nile Ranger, Andi Thanoj. They would be joined by two familiar faces with Paul White and George Forsyth returning to Latimer Park. The back four line-up for this opening game showed little cohesion that would have been gained from playing together through the pre-season friendlies where for the majority of games a back three was preferred. The injury sustained by Ismael Fatadjo in the Basingstoke game, a break of both the bones in his right forearm necessitating emergency surgery for the insertion of plates and screws, had disrupted Mr Hollyhead’s team plans. Forsyth moved into a midfield role with new signing Will Glennon forming a centre-back pairing alongside Archie Crowther in an untested combination under competitive conditions. Thanoj and Connor Stanley completed midfield with Ranger, Loza and Lobjoit forming a fluid attacking trio.

One ex-Poppy lined up for Royston, in the form of the popular James Brighton and mention must be made for the Crows captain, Adam Murray, a rock at the heart of their defence for the past 10 seasons.

The day was sunny and warm with negligible wind. The pitch was well grassed but looked to be firm and bouncy.

Kettering in red shirts and black shorts kicked off defending the clubhouse end playing down the slope with Royston in white shirts and black shorts. Royston had the first meaningful attack of the game in the second minute when a ball was played forward for Iaciofano to run onto. White appeared to be slow off his line and got to the ball marginally second best but did enough to prevent the forward from having a pop at goal. By the time the Royston man got the ball back under control Kettering had men back in numbers and stifled the move.

Two minutes later, Andoh conceded a free-kick some thirty yards from goal on Kettering’s right. The kick was lifted with an out swinger towards the edge of the penalty area. It was partially cleared by a red shirted head but it fell to Josh Boorn lurking just outside the box. He fired in a low shot through a crowded penalty area. Paul White’s view must have been obscured as it appeared that he reacted a little slowly but diving to his right at full stretch managed to get a hand to the ball taking all the pace out of the shot but he only managed to push the ball onto the base of the post from where it tricked into the goal.  1-0 Royston 4 mins

Kettering looked to hit back quickly and three minutes later Stanley got the better of Royston’s right-back down the left wing and sent a deep looping cross towards the far post where Loza leapt higher than the defender to get his head to the ball. However, Warner-Eley went down under the pressure and a free kick was awarded to the defender. Shortly after, Kettering were on the attack again. A fierce shot from Lobjoit was parried by Jamie Head diving to his right. The rebound flew straight to Loza who slotted the ball home but was adjudged to be offside.

Twelve minutes had passed when the ball was played down Royston’s left and Loza had the chance to run at Brighton. Jamar looked like he was getting the better of the ex-Poppy but James managed to get a foot in and settled for conceding a corner. Shane Flynn took the set piece and sent the ball in towards the near post. Forsyth darted away from the middle collected the ball and fired a shot low and hard into the middle. It evaded all the defenders to arrive at Archie Crowther to tap in from very close range. 1-1 Kettering 13 mins

Three minutes later, Stanley once again carried the ball forward down Royston’s right. Connor took on Thomas at right-back and managed to get past him and deliver a looping cross into the goalmouth where Ranger got his head to the ball to nod it home from close range. 1-2 Kettering 16 mins

Royston looked to get level in quick order and, almost straight from the restart, won a free kick deep inside Kettering’s half. The ball was lifted into the penalty area where once again White was not his usual positive self and his fisted clearance fell to a Royston player who was overwhelmed by red shirts before a free kick was awarded for a foul on Glennon. The resulting challenge left Flynn on the floor needing treatment. The referee took the opportunity to allow the players a drinks break.

Both defences were looking uncertain and good work from Loza on the right sent the ball in for Ranger to try an overhead kick but his effort went wide.

With twenty-three minutes gone, loose defending by Kettering saw Crowther need to put the ball into touch for a throw-in some 10 yards from the by-line on Kettering’s left. The ball was tossed deep into the penalty area where Murray nodded the ball forward towards Boorn who managed to beat White at his near post stabbing the ball home from close range. 2-2 Royston 25 mins

Just after the half hour mark, Royston were awarded a free kick midway inside Kettering’s half. The set piece was lifted into the penalty area where it was headed clear by Forsyth but straight to Boorn who fired in a fierce shot only to be denied by a fine diving save by White pushing the ball away. Royston kept the pressure on and the ball was eventually put behind for a corner. Kettering pulled every player back to defend the corner which caused panic stations in the heart of the Kettering defence being unable to clear the ball with it eventually falling to Kian Harness who sent his effort well wide.

With just under ten minutes left of the half, it was Kettering’s turn to exert some pressure on the Royston goal. A high ball into the Royston penalty area led to a spell of head tennis but with neither side able to get a decisive touch on the ball. Two minutes later, Loza attacked down the left wing driving into the penalty area and was a loud appeal from the Kettering fans behind the goal when a defender appeared to control the ball with his arm. Mr Lathan was not moved though and play continued. With five minutes left in the half, Mr Lathan produced the first yellow card of the afternoon when Locke slid into Lobjoit. The Royston player squealed in pain and the Referee awarded a free kick. This caused an instant recovery of the home player and led to a booking for Lobjoit.

With forty-four minutes on the clock, a ball was played forward along the ground towards the Kettering goal. Glennon looked to have the situation under control facing his own goal but a lack of communication between the debutant and his keeper gave Iaciofano the chance to nip in front of the defender steal the ball off his toes and slot the ball past the stranded White. 3-2 Royston 44 mins

There would be four additional minutes played, mostly due to the injury to Flynn and the drinks break. With time close to expiring the ball was played towards Thanoj on the right wing. Andi played a good 1-2 with Ranger and continued his progress down the wing. Thanoj played a great through ball to Loza who passed a defender to leave himself 1 v 1 against the keeper who Jamar beat with a coolly placed shot. 3-3 Kettering 45+4 mins

It was virtually the last kick of the half with Mr Lathan blowing for half-time immediately as Royston restarted the match. The half time talk from both managers would no doubt concentrate on both teams’ defensive frailties.

    Half Time:  Royston Town  3  Kettering Town 3 

Kettering were forced into making a substitution half time. Lobjoit who had picked up an injury towards the end of the half was replaced by Wes York. Talking to Leon during the second half, the extent of the injury was not known putting his availability for the Tuesday night game in doubt.

The second half started a lot quieter than the first with neither keeper being called into action until the fifty-first minute, when a ball was played through by Royston for Harness to chase. The forward imagined he could intimidate White but Paul stood his ground with the forward bouncing off the keeper and going to the floor claiming a penalty. Mr Lathan treated the appeal with the contempt it deserved.

Before play could be restarted, Flynn required treatment on his right thigh close to the Royston bench. Having received treatment on the same leg in the first half, the youngster could not continue. In a bold move, Kettering withdrew both of their full backs with Flynn and Levi Andoh being replaced by two debutants in the form of Eddie Oppong and Alfie Lewis resulting in a formation change for the visitors with Forsyth dropping into a back three. Royston took advantage of the break for a substitution of their own with Thomas Avgoustidis replacing Archie Locke.

The tactical change saw Kettering take control of the game locking down midfield as their own.

Connor Stanley was enjoying his debut and after fifty-seven minutes took on Thomas, the Royston right-back, and beat him with ease but saw his cross headed away. Five minutes later, Stanley once again tormented Thomas this time cutting inside and firing in a rasping shot which drew a good blocking save by Head before it was eventually cleared by the defence.

Kettering were in the ascendancy and on sixty-five minutes. Loza made a good turn and glided past Brighton before delivering a dangerous low cross into the box where Thomas opted for safety first and put the ball behind for a corner. The corner came to nothing but Kettering retained possession. However, the attack was halted shortly after when, in trying to latch onto a Thanoj through ball, Ranger had drifted into an off-side position.

With just over twenty minutes to go Royston experienced some good fortune when the ball was played into their penalty area. A defender in an attempt to hack the ball away sent the ball directly at Loza and the rebound was heading goalwards but Head was alert and gratefully gathered the ball in. Shortly after, Loza penetrated the penalty area again with the ball at his feet and drove in a low centre. The ball was cleared but only as far as Oppong on the edge of the box but Eddie failed to connect with the ball cleanly and Head easily collected the weak shot.

While a Royston player was down with cramp, the first event of many, the hosts took the opportunity of making a double substitution with Iaciofano and Warner-Eley being withdrawn in favour of Toiny-Pendred and Frederick.

Shortly after, Oppong made a penetrating run down the right wing going past the fading Brighton with ease. His cross eventually ended up with Stanley on the opposite wing who cut inside and opted for placement over power and sent a curling shot aimed towards the far post but the ball failed to curl enough and passed harmlessly by the post.

Such was the threat of Stanley, Boorn’s forward duties were curtailed in order to put some shackles on the diminutive player. This move proved it’s worth with ten minutes to go when after a short corner Loza, once again, carried the ball into the penalty area. Jamar fed the ball to Stanley whose low shot was blocked on the line by Boorn and cleared.

Shortly after ,Stanley and Oppong swapped wings with Eddie’s first action on the left was to be on the receiving end of a foul by Thomas which earned the defender a yellow card. Before the free kick could be taken Royston made their final substitution with Harkness being replaced by Rookard. The taking of the free kick was delayed by Head in the Royston goal requiring treatment. Eventually Thanoj was able to take the kick which he lifted into the area towards Loza but Head was out quickly to snatch the ball out of the air before going to the floor to require more treatment for cramp much to the displeasure of the Kettering fans behind the goal.

When play was restarted the clearance fell to Glennon who threaded a ball through for Loza to run onto. Jamar had reached the edge of the penalty area when an arm across his chest by a defender pushed him to the floor but Mr Lathan waved away appeals for a penalty.

As Kettering pressed for a deserved winner, Royston looked to hit the visitors with a sucker punch. Substitute Avgoustidis had the first attempt running at the Kettering defence. Luck was on the Royston players side as three red shirts attempted to tackle the forward but each time the ball broke in favour of the attacker enabling him to retain possession. However, his fortune deserted him on his final shot which ballooned over the bar.

With normal time coming to a close, an unforced error by Forsyth led to Royston having a 2v2 attack but Rookard’s attempt was poor and his shot from distance was sent wide of the goal. Royston were showing more endeavour in the final five minutes than in the previous forty minutes of the half. A long clearance by Head was worked forward by Royston and required a clearance by Glennon close to his own line to prevent Royston snatching a winner at the death.

Mr Lathan indicated that there would be an additional nine minutes to be played mostly due to Royston players going down with cramp which calls into question the team’s pre-season fitness conditioning.

Four minutes into added time, and Royston applied intense pressure on the Kettering goal which saw White called into action to palm the ball away from goal. However, the danger had not been cleared as Royston turned the screw with the defence looking unsteady for the first time in the second half. Avgoustidis threw himself to the floor in an attempt to deceive Mr Lathan into awarding a penalty but he ignored the dive. Eventually, the ball fell to Lewis on the edge of the box and, in order to relieve the pressure, looked to run the ball out of defence. With Royston having committed a lot of players forward, Alfie had acres of space to run into. Boorn recognising the threat took one for the team and brought Lewis down from behind rightfully earning a booking. As the Kettering man was midway inside his own half there was no possibility of it being a red. James Brighton got involved in the incident and must have said something to the Referee as he too had his name taken.

Three minutes later, Royston were awarded a free kick midway inside Kettering’s half. Brighton lifted the ball from just in front of the Royston bench aimed towards the far post. White leapt high to collect the ball at full stretch but was impeded by Matthews who was not even looking at the ball and backed into Paul causing him to crash to the floor in serious looking fall. Lengthy treatment followed with White looking in tremendous pain. It became clear that Paul could not continue with an arm injury. Fortunately, Kettering still had a substitution opportunity and did so with White being replaced by his namesake Lewis White taking over in goal in a purple shirt with a number hastily fashioned out of gaffer tape applied to the back as the substitute keeper’s shirt would not have fitted Lewis’ muscular frame. This only two weeks after having leave the pitch after dislocating his shoulder at Bedworth. Kai Fyfield also came on replacing Connor Stanley who had run his socks off for the team.

Kettering appeared to be of the opinion that the best way to protect the stand-in keeper would be to play the game in the Royston half. Oppong drove down the right wing who fed Loza who carried the ball into the penalty area. He fired a shot towards goal but was blocked by a defender  and the ball appeared to be going out for a corner but Jamar kept the ball alive, crossing the ball once more into the box but once again it was cleared but only as far as Oppong. Eddie Oppong then struck the sweetest shot from just outside the area with power and precision giving Head in the Royston goal no chance as the net billowed from the shot. 3-4 Kettering 90 +14 mins

As in the first half Royston barely had time to restart the game before Mr Lathan sounded the final whistle.

   Full Time: Royston Town  3   Kettering Town  4 

It appeared from the first half performance that the players of both teams were still in the mindset of pre-season friendlies with all six goals the result of defensive frailties. The tactical adjustments made by Simon Hollyhead early in the second half allowed Kettering to take control of the game passing the ball well to retain possession and restrict the home team to the occasional counterattack. The removal of both full backs meant the pulling back of Forsyth and the adoption of a system that had been utilised in the pre-season matches. This improved the defensive performance of the team with Royston not looking likely to score on every attack. The introduction of two more attack minded players gave control of the midfield to Kettering giving Thanoj time on the ball and the ability to pick his passes.

Royston looked like a team clinging on trying to hold onto a point seeking to waste time at every opportunity with multiple players going down with cramp, including their keeper at least 3 times. It was somewhat fitting that Kettering snatched a late winner in the time added by Mr Lathan generated by the stoppages caused by the home team.

The stoppage time injury to Paul White looked serious, with team officials unsure as to the extent of the injury with the possibility of a fracture. It is the third Saturday in a row where a Kettering player has suffered such an injury with Lewis White sustaining a dislocated shoulder at Bedworth, and Ismael Fatadjo, a double arm fracture against Basingstoke. The one positive is the club has a back-up keeper of known ability and does not have a frantic search for a replacement keeper.

The injuries forcing the withdrawal of Leon Lobjoit and Shane Flynn will present Simon Hollyhead with a selection problem for the Leiston match on Tuesday with Ismael, Paul White and Callum Powell already on a lengthening injury list after only 1 game.

Royston Town yellow cards:   Thomas, Boorn, Matthews – fouls  Brighton – dissent

Kettering Town yellow cards:  Lobjoit – foul                                      

 Attendance: unknown

Kettering Town Man-of-the-Match – Jamar Loza – Another polished performance from Jamar presenting problems throughout the game for the Royston defence. He took his goal with calm assurance beating the keeper with a clinical finish. His second half display linking up with Eddie Oppong would have left James Brighton wishing he still wore the red of Kettering. An honourable mention must be made to Connor Stanley on his debut who created similar problems for Royston on the opposite flank taking on the right back and supplying a succession of crosses into the box,  one of which was converted by Nile Ranger. He was also unafraid of taking the ball inside and trying a shot himself testing the Royston keeper with stinging shots.