Kettering Town v Barwell

Pitching in Southern League Premier Division Central

Saturday 8^th February 2025   3:00pm

Referee: David Hinton           Assistants: James Strumilidlo and Kurt Bartlett

After a cold wet evening, a morning pitch inspection confirmed that today’s game would go ahead. This afternoon’s opponents should give Richard Lavery’s team the ideal opportunity to get back on track following the home defeat against Bromsgrove Sporting and re-establish Latimer Park as an imposing place for visiting teams. Barwell currently sit in 20^th place and have lost five of their last six away matches avoiding a whitewash by winning at Banbury where Kettering slipped to defeat on Tuesday.

Richard Lavery’s team would be bolstered by the return to the starting line-up of Andi Thanoj after injury. Also returning would be Devon Kelly-Evans after struggling all week with illness he left his sick bed to answer the club’s call. Terell Pennant, scorer of the important injury time winner at Sudbury, would start with Tyree Wilson on the opposite flank supporting sole forward Nile Ranger with Jonny Edwards on the bench alongside Wes York, Gary Stohrer, Luca Miller and Lewis White, creating a strong balanced substitute line up. Still missing through injury would be Callum Powell and Kai Fifield. Two former Poppies turned out for Barwell, Lathaniel Rowe-Turner and Herve Pepe Ngoma with a third, Ethan Hill, missing the game through suspension.

The afternoon was murky necessitating the floodlights to be on from the kick off but Barwell’s bright lime green strip stood out clearly. It was a cold afternoon but dry with no wind and little chance of rain. The pitch looked in good condition with a perfectly playable surface.

Barwell kicked off defending the Tin Hat sending the ball high to the stand side but it came off  Waite’s head and straight into touch. Kettering were the first to mount an attack in the second minute when Jezeph took a free kick from deep inside his own half following a foul on Hart. The kick picked out Ranger, who controlled the ball on his chest, before touching it outside to Wilson who stroked the ball forward for Noel-Williams to run onto getting behind Barwell’s back four. Isiah’s ball into the box was cleared but only as far to Wilson who recycled the ball back to Noel-Williams to try again. This time, Isiah lifted the ball high towards the far post where it was collected by Powell. Aaron tried to get past the Barwell full back to the byline but ended touching the ball last whilst being tackled giving Barwell a goal kick.

Shortly after, Barwell were awarded a free kick in a similar position to Kettering’s when Mancinelli went to the floor under minimal pressure from a defender. The free kick, taken by Hickey, was aimed towards the near post but Lita’s flick on was blocked  by Ranger and partially cleared but only as far as Waite lurking on the edge of the penalty area but his first time shot was well wide of the post.

The game got its first yellow card of the afternoon after only five minutes of play. The ball was played long by Hart down the stand side. The two Barwell central defenders were jogging back to clear the ball when Isiah came at full pelt from deep to pass between the pair to reach the ball first. With the threat of Isiah busting clear just outside the visitor’s penalty area Nirennold took the decision to bring down the forward. Hart delivered an out-swinger into a crowded penalty area with all eleven Barwell players back to defend. Pepe Ngoma got his head to the ball but Kettering regained possession with the ball being played out wide to Pennant. Closed down quickly, Terell jinked his way to make space for a cross but it was too close to the goalkeeper and Bosworth collected it with ease.

Barwell responded well, retaining the ball with a good passing move working the ball forward. The move broke down with them winning a free kick some five yards inside Kettering’s half on the stand side. Brown-Hill lifted the ball high to the far corner of Kettering’s penalty area where it was nodded on by Pepe Ngoma towards Lita. Leroy had managed to get away from Gudger and pivoted and shot first time back across the face of goal drawing a good save from Jezeph diving to his right to push the ball behind for the first corner of the game after nine minutes of action. Hickey’s corner from the stand side was headed behind by Ranger allowing Hickey to try again. This time it was headed clear by Johnson to Kelly-Evans waiting on the edge of the penalty area as Kettering broke with pace. Devon played the ball to Wilson who took the ball inside breezing past Pepe Ngoma before returning the ball into the path of the hard sprinting Kelly-Evans. Devon took the ball deep before attempting to cross the ball low into the middle but saw it blocked behind by Ngoma for Kettering’s first corner which came to nothing.

Kettering won another corner a minute later as the ball was played down Kettering’s left wing with Pennant threading the ball forward for Noel-Williams to run onto. Isiah took the ball to the byline before cutting it back towards the middle but it was cut out by a defender at the expense of a corner. Once again, the set piece came to nothing.

Kettering opened the scoring just after the quarter hour mark. A free kick for Barwell taken deep inside their own half by keeper Bosworth was lifted long into Kettering’s half where it was flicked on by Lita some ten yards outside the penalty area but only straight into the hands of Jezeph. Dan tried to bowl the ball out quickly to Wilson on the right but Waite managed to get a head on the ball as it passed by him which diverted the ball straight to Noel-Williams’ feet inside the centre circle. Isiah turned, and charged, with the ball directly towards the Barwell goal before playing it diagonally towards Wilson who was sprinting forward down the left wing. He sailed past Brown-Hill before squaring the ball hard and low. Noel-Williams had continued his run towards the near post and allowed the ball to continue on its way through his legs giving it a slight touch on the way through. The ball ran through to Ranger, who also let the ball run through his legs, before applying a neat back heel with his right leg to push the ball into the back of the net with Bosworth having no chance. 1-0 Kettering Town 17 mins.

Kettering had their tails up and were looking to seal the deal and kept on the front foot. Shortly after the goal, Johnson threaded the ball through for Noel-Williams to run onto. Bosworth ran to the edge of his penalty area to collect the ball with inches to spare before Isiah arrived.

On the twenty-minute mark, Barwell were gifted a corner through miscommunication between Jezeph and Johnson. The corner was poor though allowing Kelly-Evans to clear the ball picking out Pennant. Pennant moved slowly forward with the ball allowing Wilson to sprint through to run onto a ball slotted through by Terell in plenty of space as Ngoma vainly raised his arm claiming offside before giving chase. Tyree calmly shaped up looking to pass the ball low into the far corner of the goal but Bosworth made a good save with his left foot to prevent Kettering doubling their lead.

Just before the half hour mark, Kettering were pressing forward on the open side. Noel-Williams looked to have got past Fridye-Harper before the defender tried to trip him but such is Isiah’s strength, he just continued with the referee signalling that an advantage was being played. The defender gave chase and ran into Noel-Williams’ back bringing him down just outside the penalty area. However, Mr Hinton brought the ball back to the site of the initial foul. The ball was lifted into the goalmouth with Johnson and Nirennold challenging for the ball. Connor got the initial touch but the defender was close enough to block the header with his own head to send the ball looping over the bar for a corner. The corner on the stand side was aimed by Hart towards the far post. Headed away by a defender, it fell to Powell, just outside the penalty area, whose attempted shot was deflected behind for another corner which came to nothing.

With eight minutes left in the half Kettering were reminded of the need to increase their lead of a single goal when Barwell were awarded a free kick ten yards outside Kettering’s penalty area when Osbourne went down under the slightest of contacts. Hickey lifted the ball into the penalty area. The ball was contested in the air but fell to the feet of Nirennold some eight yards out who demonstrated why he’s a centre half and not a centre forward by ballooning the ball over the bar.

Three minutes were added at the end of the regulation forty-five. As this was being announced, Barwell were awarded another soft free kick as Brown-Hill advanced and theatrically went to ground a few yards outside the penalty area in a central position. Hickey lined up for a direct shot at goal but merely sent the ball into the Kettering wall and was then cleared by Johnson. As Kettering were looking to break downfield, Hickey went down with a ‘head Injury’ causing the referee to halt the action and allow Barwell to get all their players back behind the ball. This effectively brought the half to an end.

 Half Time: Kettering Town 1  Barwell 0

Neither manager made any substitutions at half time. Jimmy Ginnelly had obviously told his team that they were not out of this yet as the visitors started the second half with a more determined air. After three minutes, Lita looked to have broken the Kettering defensive line but the linesman came to Kettering’s aid and flagged for offside.

Two minutes later, Kettering were awarded a free kick just inside Barwell’s half following a trip by Nirennold on Ranger. Thanoj tapped the ball to Gudger who played a fine cross field ball to Hart just in front of the Kettering bench. Ben controlled the ball and set off on a diagonal run towards the Barwell penalty area. No defender closed him down so Hart continued his run with Wilson outside of him drawing one defender away. As he reached the edge of the area, he attempted a left footed shot aimed at a right angle to his run, but although it was on target, it lacked power and was a simple collect for Bosworth.

On fifty-two minutes, after a poor ball forward by Gudger was intercepted by Barwell,  they looked to build from the back. However, Ranger had different ideas and coming from his blind side stole the ball off Nirennold and pushed it to Thanoj inside the centre circle. Andi advanced with Ranger striding out running parallel. Kettering had a four against three advantage, but Rowe-Turner did well to not commit himself. Andi slipped to his right for the waiting Ranger who took the ball into the penalty area. Nile hesitated in taking a shot and Rowe-Turner was able to get in front of Nile and block the shot. It ran Kettering’s way though onto Wilson but Tyree was very wide by this time and could only put his shot into the side netting.

Barwell were having their best phase of the game stringing together a succession of passes but unable to penetrate the Kettering defence. Just before the hour mark, Barwell won a corner on the open side. Hickey’s corner picked out Nirennold who sent a goal bound header wide of Jezeph but Ranger acrobatically cleared the ball off the line saving a certain goal. Thanoj completed the clearance setting Pennant racing down the wing in acres of space. Outrunning any support, he checked his run but in doing so lost his footing allowing Fridye-Harper to take possession of the ball.

Five minutes later, Barwell were once again controlling possession but a wayward ball forward was collected by Powell who then initiated a fine passing move involving three different Poppies before Hart played the ball down the right wing for Wilson to run into the open space bypassing the left back. Tyree sent an inviting cross parallel to the byline about three yards out where it was met in the middle by Pennant, who had got in front of Fridye-Harper, who clipped Terell’s leg accidently. As the Kettering man was falling, he connected with the ball which was enough to change its course directing it into the bottom corner of the goal with Bosworth going the wrong way. 2-0 Kettering Town 64 mins.

Kettering kept up the pressure looking to increase their lead but Barwell had not thrown the towel in and were presented with an opportunity when once again they were awarded a soft free kick following a foul by Johnson a dozen or so yards outside Kettering’s penalty area. Brown-Hill curled the ball in but went out for a throw-in after deflecting off Johnson. The throw-in was poor though going out for a Kettering goal kick.

Pennant had received a knock in the act of scoring, and on seventy minutes, became the first substitution being replaced by Wes York. York had an almost immediate impact on the game. Jezeph’s goal kick was fed to Thanoj who dinked a ball over the Barwell back line into the penalty area for Wes to run onto. Bosworth came a long way out of his goal to try and claim the ball as York had to stop the ball going out of play but he shielded the ball from the keeper and with the goalie on the floor audaciously turned the ball goalwards where, fortunately for Bosworth, Mancinelli cleared the ball off the line for a throw-in on the stand side.

With just over fifteen minutes to go, Barwell made a double substitution with Lita and Osbourne going off to be replaced by Skeen-Hamilton and McManus. Kettering took advantage of the stoppage to swap Jonny Edwards for Nile Ranger.

The substitutions had the effect of breaking the flow of the game with both sides having attacking moves breaking down due to offside decisions. With seventy-seven minutes gone, Kettering won a corner when Wilson and Hart combined together but Ben’s cross was put behind by Brown-Hill. The corner from Hart was played long where it was collected by Noel-Williams. Kettering retained possession and worked the ball back out to the open side where once again the Wilson Hart combination led to Ben putting a ball into the box. Edwards got to the ball in front of his marker but his first time side foot was wide of the post.

With just over ten minutes to go, Barwell made two substitutions in quick succession. Firstly, Ryan Hayes came on for Pepe Ngoma and three minutes later, Koby Arthur for Waite.

Kettering responded by breaking forward working down the open side. Wilson supplied another low cross which was deflected into the path of Powell who was pushing forward. Aaron struck a good shot looking to open his goal scoring account with the team. A Barwell defender managed to block the shot with an outstretched leg disappointing not only Aaron, but his nine-year-old brother who was a mascot for the day.

As the four minutes of addition time was announced, Jezeph sent a goal kick deep into the Barwell half. It was nodded on by Edwards into the path of Noel-Williams as York crossed in front of Nirennold allowing Isiah to move into the penalty area. The defender moved to cover Noel-Williams but this just left York unmarked just by the penalty spot ready to receive a pass from Isiah and Wes made no mistake slotting it past Bosworth. 3-0 Kettering Town 90 mins.

The remaining time was played out with players on both sides looking forward to getting in from the cold with no action taking place.

 Full Time: Kettering Town 3  Barwell 0

A return to form by Kettering after a series of lacklustre displays over the last two months. It is no coincidence that this upsurge in performance has occurred with the return of both Devon Kelly-Evans and Andi Thanoj to the starting line-up. The team has reverted to how they were playing at the start of the season, playing with width and pace. Most teams in this league rely on a pair of towering centre backs to anchor their defence and there is no better way to counter that than by going wide and bypassing them as demonstrated by the goals today. This performance will hopefully refresh the team’s self belief and restore the confidence that they were playing with before Christmas. However, it must be hoped that this is not a false dawn as Barwell are in the middle of a deep losing slump at the moment having lost seven matches in a row. We should wait to see the team’s performance against the tougher teams we are to face in the next few games like Stourbridge, Bedford, Telford and Halesowen before planning next season’s away trips to the North.

Kettering Town yellow cards: Hart, Powell – fouls                                              

Barwell yellow cards:  Nirennold – foul                                                  

Attendance: 928

Kettering Town Man-of-the-Match picked by DS Smith– Nile Ranger – A good day for Nile ending his goal drought of eleven matches. Experience was key when he flicked home the opener which gave the rest of the team belief and relief. On top of that, a goal line clearance in the second half saved a certain goal at a stage in the match when Barwell were getting on top and believing that they could get something from the match. A special mention should be made of Tyree Wilson who ran his heart out today and was instrumental in setting up the first two goals using his pace to get around the end of Barwell’s back line before delivering an enticing low cross into the goal area leaving the forwards a simple finish to score.