Match Report Kettering Town v AFC Sudbury 19 Oct 2024

Kettering Town v AFC Sudbury

Pitching in Southern League Premier Division Central

Saturday 19th October 2024   3:00pm

Kettering Town AFC Sudbury
1 Dan Jezeph 1 James Bradbrook 
2 Ben Hart 5 Ryan Henshaw 
14 Harlain Mbayo Off 806 Tom Dickens 
5 Connor Johnson (Capt) 7 Matty Miles  Off 80
3 Aaron Powell 4 Jake Turner   (Capt) 
4 Devon Kelly-Evans 3 Ben Isaacson 
8 Andi Thanoj Off 7010 Myles Cowling Off 80
16 Isiah Noel-Williams 15 Josh Allen       
7 Wes York Off 648 Ollie Peters 
18 Jonny Edwards 9 Joe Neal            
11 Tyree Wilson  12 Liam Pearce 
      
 Substitutes  Substitutes 
9 Nile Ranger 2 Charlie Lewis 
10 Gary Stohrer On 7014 Ben Bradley On 80
12 Lewis White On 8011 Callum Page On 80
17 Luca Miller On 64   
20 Gary Hooper 13 Jack Munson (GK) 

Referee:  Edgar Brown    Assistants:  Callum Lockley and Tom Burt

Today’s opposition AFC Sudbury sit comfortably in mid table in eleventh place with16 points from 11 games. After last season’s flirtation with relegation resolved by a late season turn around in form, this season sees them performing inconsistently from week-to-week. The Yellows last six games has seen two good wins, away at Redditch and home to Stamford, and three defeats conceding three goals both away at Bedford and Leiston, and an unexpected home defeat to lower league opposition at home to Cambridge in the Trophy.

Richard Lavery made one change from Tuesday’s line-up which returned from Bromsgrove with three points. Nile Ranger, who was taken off at half time with a tight groin, was held in reserve on the bench with his spot leading the attack taken by the man who replaced him, Jonny Edwards. With one eye on the forthcoming Northampton game, Jonny was preferred as he will be unavailable for the Sixfield’s game due to being cup-tied. A familiar face on the bench was the return of Gary Stohrer who made a cameo appearance at Bromsgrove. New signing Gary Hooper was also on the bench ready to make his Kettering debut. Dan Jarvis, Kai Fifield and Huw Dawson were still unavailable due to injury.

With the extensive rain that had fallen in Burton Latimer overnight, and throughout the morning, this game would have been called off last season. The work carried out on the pitch drainage has paid dividends ,and apart from a few wet spots, the pitch looked in good condition. The weather was mild and sunny with only a slight breeze blowing across the pitch from the clubhouse side proving a cooling wind for the players.

For the first time in a few weeks Kettering would be attacking the Pro-saw stand in the first half as Sudbury, in fuchsia shirts, blue shorts and fuchsia socks, kicked off. Kettering were fast out of the blocks and inside the first minute Noel-Williams advanced with purpose down the left wing before delivering a good cross, but it was headed clear by a defender. A minute later, Kettering had success again down the stand side this time through Wilson who squared the ball to Noel-Williams, but his low shot went harmlessly wide.

Ten minutes had been played when Sudbury generated their first chance of the game. Miles was brought down some twenty-five yards from the Kettering goal. The free-kick, just to the left of centre, was taken by Peters but his curling free-kick lifted over the wall drifted just wide of Jezeph’s right hand post.

Shortly after, Kettering once more attacked down their left wing where good work between Wilson and Powell saw Aaron lift the ball towards the near post . Edwards got his head to the ball, but Dickens was there also, and the ball spun off his head to block the ball behind for the first corner of the game. The corner came to nothing but a couple of minutes later another Powell cross from the left picked out Edwards, but his header sailed over the bar.

Kettering were monopolising play down the left wing as a couple of minutes later, Hart on the overlap ,saw Ben deliver the ball from the open side to Noel-Williams who touched the ball back to Edwards, but his volley went narrowly over the bar.

Kettering were having the best of the game at this stage with the hosts gradually building up the pressure on the Sudbury five-man defensive line. Noel-Williams was as normal causing problems for the opposition picking up the ball deep and carrying the ball forward with direct running at the defence. This time he laid the ball off to Wilson whose low shot drew the first real save of the day from Bradbrook, the Sudbury keeper, with a comfortable stop.

After twenty-five five minutes, Powell carried the ball forward advancing into Sudbury’s penalty area driving to the touch line, but his cut back cross was closed down well by Myles who blocked the ball behind for an unproductive corner.

With half an hour played, Sudbury had their best spell of the first half. Hart conceded a free kick just inside Kettering’s half which was lifted into the host’s penalty area by Neal where it was touched behind for Sudbury’s first corner. Kettering cleared the corner well with a solid header by Mbayo. Five minutes later, Neal linked up with Peters, but he was closed down by Kelly-Evans who conceded a corner. The set piece was played short, but it was closed down by Wilson at the expense of another corner. This was delivered in a more conventual method, but it was claimed well by Jezeph who looked to start a quick counterattack. The ball was switched to the other end with Wilson finding Edwards. Jonny turned his marker who attempted to bring him down. The referee played an advantage, but the forward’s curling shot just missed the top corner. Mr Brown then cautioned the offender, centre-half Ryan Henshaw.

Having booked a visitor, Mr Brown evened up the very next minute by booking Kelly-Evans for a foul on Cowling deep inside Kettering’s half. To be fair, Devon had been warned by the Referee to expect trouble if he offended again. The free kick taken by Neal was chipped towards the far post where Henshaw headed into the side netting.

With five minutes left in the half, Kettering forced two corners in succession but neither posed any threat on the Sudbury goal. A couple of minutes later, Kettering won another corner when a ball played into the box by Hart was put behind. The corner was taken short by Hart to York who played the ball back to Ben who cut inside along the by-line before delivering a cross into the box. It was met by the head of Johnson who powered the ball home from close range with Bradbrook helpless. 1-0 Kettering 44 mins.

As the game restarted, it was announced that there would be a minimum of one additional minute to be played. Sudbury responded well and pressed forward down Kettering’s right utilising long throw-ins to advance down the pitch to win a throw-in level with the penalty area on the open side. A dangerous ball was played into the middle of the goal and Jezeph, under pressure, was grateful to get a fist on the ball and punch it away from his goal. The ball fell nicely for Neal on the angle of the penalty area where he made a tremendous strike of the ball to send it into the top right-hand corner of the net giving Jezeph no chance. 1-1 Sudbury 45+1 mins

There was barely enough time for Kettering to restart before the half-time whistle sounded.

Half Time: Kettering Town 1  AFC Sudbury 1

Kettering, as in the first half, started on the front foot and inside the first minute, Wilson ran directly at the Sudbury defence and was only stopped when he was brought down just outside the penalty area by Henshaw who was walking the tightrope having been booked in the first half. Thanoj lined up to take the free kick sited about twenty yards out on the open side. Andy lifted the ball over the wall with keeper Bradbrook seeing it late but with his quick reactions was able to catch the ball right on the goal-line.

The very next minute, Noel-Williams picked up the ball mid-way inside the Sudbury half and advanced down Kettering’s left wing. He got past the defender and put a low cross into the middle towards the penalty spot. Unfortunately for Kettering, both Wilson and Edwards had pressed forward with the result that the ball was behind the pair and cleared by the defence with Sudbury looking to hit Kettering on the counterattack, but Johnson dealt with any threat.

Shortly after, Hart cleared the ball out of defence. Dickens was under it on the edge of his own penalty area, but his first touch was not the best and Edwards was onto him in a flash. Jonny pressurised the defender and he coughed up possession to the Kettering new boy who held up the ball while waiting for support to arrive. Edwards took the ball to the by-line, but Dickens had stuck to his task though and blocked the attempted low cross behind for a corner. Hart’s set-piece was eventually cleared and Neal looked to break with Kettering’s centre-backs up for the corner. Kelly-Evans was back covering though, and he executed a pinpoint tackle on the half-way line to steal the ball away. It was a crucial tackle as any error would have left Devon’s continued participation in doubt following his first half yellow card.

The next chance fell to Noel-Williams who picked the ball up on the half-way line. He turned goalwards and carried the ball forwards the Tin Hat. A Sudbury player tried to muscle Isiah off the ball, but the Kettering man showed his strength and balance and shrugged him off leaving the visitor to resort to try to slow him by pulling him back but to no avail. With Edwards on one side, and Wilson on the other occupying defenders, Isiah took the opportunity to take a low shot, but it was well wide.

Kettering kept up the pressure winning two corners which came to nothing, but Sudbury were always looking to strike on the quick break and it was one of these which led to Johnson receiving a yellow card after fifty-seven minutes when Cowling beat him on the half-way line on the open side. Connor took one for the team and tripped the visitor to halt the move.

Noel-Williams was still proving a problem for Sudbury, and like last Saturday, the Kettering fans were calling for a penalty which was not given. Kettering moved the ball forward with Wilson feeding Edwards who played an ambitious diagonal ball along the floor for Isiah to run onto. Isiah showed his pace and retrieved the ball just before it went out for a goal-kick. Noel-Williams turned inside and made his way towards the goal passing between the by-line and the full-back Isaacson who appeared to trip Isiah as he went passed. Instead of going down at the contact, Isiah tried to maintain his balance, but after a couple of out-of-control paces, gravity took charge and down he went. Mr Brown was not impressed though and play continued.

With twenty-five minutes to play in the half, there was a break in play due to a Sudbury player going down injured requiring treatment. Kettering took advantage of the stoppage to make their first substitution with Wes York making way for Luca Miller. It proved to be an inspired move by Richard Lavery, as within two minutes of coming on, Luca had restored Kettering’s lead. The move started with a Kettering throw-in mid-way inside Kettering’s half on the open side. The ball was, through a series of passes involving at least five players, moved diagonally across the field ending up with Hart on the edge of the Sudbury penalty area where a good sliding tackle put the ball out for a throw-in. Kettering controlled the ball well, patiently passing the ball around, before Mbayo picked out Noel-Williams in a pocket of space just outside the Sudbury penalty area. Isiah was quickly closed down by Cowling who looked to ease Isiah off the ball. However, the Kettering man was too strong for him and he strided away carrying the ball past the right back to the by-line where he fed a low ball towards Miller some eight yards out from goal with his back to the target. Luca beat a defender to the ball took a touch and turned 180 degrees before caressing the ball with his left foot onto a curving trajectory into the top corner of the net with the diving Bradbrook nowhere close to stopping it. 2-1 Kettering 66 mins

With a little under twenty minutes to play, Gary Stohrer made a welcome return to the Latimer Park pitch went he came on to replace Andi Thanoj. Sudbury had not thrown the towel in though and the dangerous Neal broke forward with pace but his cross into the box was intercepted by Mbayo and cleared.

Kettering were looking for a third that would give a two-goal cushion. As the game entered the final fifteen minutes of regulation play, Luca in the middle of the park played a measured ball forward to Noel-Williams. Isiah was 1v1 with a defender on the edge of the penalty area and managed to shimmy his way to gaining enough space to have a shot, but his left footed effort lacked power and was a simple collect for Bradbrook. Shortly after, Kettering won a throw-in just in front of the Gazebo stand deep inside Sudbury’s half. It was sent to Noel-William’s feet, and he turned his marker and sent an awkward cross into the box. Sudbury got lucky as Henshaw tried to head the ball away but sent it straight into Edwards about a yard away but too fast for Jonny to do anything with it and the ball bounced off his chest and behind for a goal-kick.

With about ten minutes to go, there was a break in play when Matty Miles for the visitors needed treatment following an inadvertent collision with a Kettering player which necessitated the player to go off with a damaged knee. It caught Sudbury unawares so they had to play briefly with ten men until a substitution could be actioned which saw three substitutes come on. Kettering replaced Harlain Mbayo with Lewis White which made their third and final substitution and Sudbury a double change. Lewis White replaced Harlain Mbayo whilst Ben Bradley and Callum Page replaced Miles and Myles Cowling.

Sudbury were still looking for something from the game, and another break down the open side by Joe Neal saw him beat the off-side trap. He carried the ball forward before sending a low angled ball aimed towards the far post where Peters lunging in was inches away from making contact to turn the ball into the empty net  leaving Jezeph furious with his defence.

Sudbury were finishing the game strongly, and Kettering’s defence were starting to look a little nervy. This anxiety was not helped when the Referee adjudged that an additional three minutes would be played, which was three times longer than Sudbury needed to score in the first half added time. Josh Allen tested Jezeph with a shot, but Dan was equal to it stopping it with his feet. As time was running out, Sudbury were awarded a  free kick with keeper Bradbrook coming forward for it, but Jezeph commanded his area rising highest to claim the ball and with that Mr Brown sounded the final whistle.

Full Time: Kettering Town 2  AFC Sudbury 1

A hard won three points earned in front of a tremendous gate of mainly Poppies fans. Kettering were made to toil for their goals by a determined defensive performance by Sudbury. It was disappointing that after patiently waiting to take the lead, that that lead was surrendered almost immediately after. The team did not panic though and stuck to their game plan, and it was most satisfying that from within the assembled squad the winner was scored by local lad Luca who has come on a storm this season.

In previous seasons, teams would dread coming to Latimer Park because of the condition of the pitch. This season it is because of the quality of the team they have to face. As Richard Lavery’s wish to turn LP into a fortress the support of a large partisan crowd adds to the discomfort of the visiting team. This has the side effect of visiting teams coming to Kettering with the intention of avoiding defeat playing with plenty of men behind the ball and looking to hit Kettering on the counterattack. To that end, Kettering have to be patient to work openings and be flexible to try alternate means of attack either down the flanks or up the middle with long balls utilising pace or short passing with accuracy. The squad when at full strength has the ability and guile to play in a variety of styles.

Kettering Town yellow cards: Kelly-Evans, Johnson – fouls  

AFC Sudbury yellow cards: Henshaw – foul

Attendance: 1439

Kettering Town Man-of-the-Match chosen by “The Exiles”Isiah Noel-Williams

Isiah endears himself to the Kettering fans by showing qualities which they like to see in all players that pull on a Kettering shirt. He always gives 100% and gets stuck in, never accepting second best or conceding defeat. Late in games, he gives the impression that he is drained and reaching his physical limits when an opportunity to press home an advantage occurs, he digs deep to summon a reserve of energy to give his all. He provides a threat to opposing teams with his determined running at them carrying the ball forward having the strength to fend off would be tacklers. He might not have scored that many goals apart from a special one at Guiseley but he shows his selflessness by the amount of assists he has over the season including one today. He is building an understanding with Nile Ranger, so the two players understand each others’ strengths and improves how they interact.

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