Kettering V Torquay United 21st February 2009

We will be coming in from the Coventry direction along the M6, A14, A4300, A6003.

Does anybody know a decent place to eat, Pub Lunch, along that route or is there somewhere nice in Kettering itself??

Also, having not been there before, is the Co-op the best place to park?? Any parking suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks

It's going to be a slog today (although that is usually the case!).
TBH I would be most happy with a point if we managed to follow it up with a win on Tuesday at home to FGR, but I predict 3 points out of these two games (all of which coming on Tuesday!). Given that a win today would put Kettering's play-off push back on-track (they've only played 11 home games compared to our 16!) we really need to show our credentials by getting a decent result.

One of the key factors of the how the match will go for us is the performance of Wroe - will he produce the sort of display that he is capable of, or in the absence of Hargeraves will be a passenger and be subbed early? I hope that his appearance against Malta in the week will give him the drive to put in a 5* performance.

With regards to the team changes, I would be surprised if Hodges doesn't return to the defence in place of Woods. I would expect to see Thompson come straight into the first team, although not necesarily as a direct positional replacement for Hargreaves but to add some "get at 'em" to the team.
Would Bucks make the change of putting Mansell into he midfield and put Robertson at right back? I wouldn't expect this but Bucks isn't afraid to spring surprises.

Up-front I think that Christie will start. It is often the case that players step-up a gear against a club that they have recently left (and in fairly bizarre circumsances in this case!!). Whether this alongside Sills (or even ahead of Sills) remains to be seen. I do think that Benyon will be back on the bench today.

COME ON YOU YELLOWS!!

Oh Well! Looks like we're not doing much better than Weymouth today!

Just got back from a walk, turned on the wireless and we're 2 nil down. I await the match reports with interest!!

I said this would be a tough one, and so it turned out..................bloody hell just getting there on time was tough enough what with stationary traffic queued on the approaches to the North Circular and then the M1 BEFORE we had cleared Watford! So after much ducking and diving, re-routing and diverting; we rolled into Rockingham Road's shabby little social club at 2.15.

Were some players not at the races at the off, or were Kettering super revved? Whatever, we were facing a low sun and struggling somewhat to come to terms with the opening exchanges and the first goal I suppose could be put down a little to Robertson's naiivety in "showing himself" to the talented Jean - Paul Marna a little too early and the striker was able to wriggle free to beat Bevan with a fairly regulation shot low across him into the bottom right hand corner - good finish and proof of the value of taking your opportunities however early in the game.

If that wasn't enough, Carlisle then compounded matters by getting penalised in a way that has become depressingly repetitive for us by making an off balance challenge and raising his arm in the air whilst leaning back - result ANOTHER SOFT PENALTY duly stuck away and we're two nil down with just a dozen minutes on the clock. I must admit at the time I thought it was Mansell who had given the penalty away as the challenge was so much in his "style"-
EDIT: It seems I was right and the BBC wrong according to the Kettering official site report that cites Mansell as the culprit! I could well imagine that Bucks was livid at the ref for penalising Carlisle but as a former ref AND a player I would venture that if you challenge like that you are always going to risk a penalty being given. However, our manager DID seem to be requesting a "word with the ref" as they went in at half time and I don't think the ref was showing any arrogance or sign of in approachability as they went down the tunnel below me.

I thought we had seen enough from playing 4-4-1-1 away from home and had enough success to use it today but Bucks went with 4-4-2 and yet again and so depressingly Benyon had about as much influence on Big Nasty Guy Branston as a fly on a gorilla. Benyon achieved nothing in the entire time he was on save getting brought down in the channel just to the right of the penalty area but fell in such a feminine way that the ref glared at him for having the temerity to "try it on". Personally I thought it WAS a free kick, but NOT the penalty OUR fans behind the goal wanted and to be honest if you're going to fall like that you'll get Jack Shit in this "Big Boy's League" Another foul on him WAS given but correctly given an inch or two short of the penalty area too, so as far as near penalties went we were not getting any (undeserved) luck.

None of it was needed however when Nicholson absolutely hammered an Exocet past Harper in the home goal from the second of those free kicks taking a short tee up from Carlisle(?) before unleashing something that would have taken the keeper's head off had it got in the way!

We came out for the second half with extra bight and an exact reversal of the first half resulted with our team taking the game to the opposition, finding space and beginning to create chances but in reality nothing was going to up the liklihood of scoring again until Benyon was dispatched to the bench (oh, shock horror; he failed to shake the manager's hand, make eye contact and was even seen to shake his head...................is this the last we shall see of young Elliott? )

Fascinatingly we then saw the pairing of Green and Christie together up front with Sills slightly withdrawn behind them and a masterclass in wing play from Caryol who truly motored past both left and right full back with ease, getting in some decent crosses and generally causing discomfort for the big home back four.

I thought Thompson came in and put up a good show, but I thought Wroe looked out of place on a bobbly uneven pitch surrounded by marauding "giants" - if ever there was a game we need Greavsie in, it was this one!

Still, Kettering have now won a creditable half a dozen home games this season and only lost three. They are a side to command respect and a heck of a hard proposition on their own turf. I thought their little midfielder Andre Boucaud showed technique, awareness and class way above BSP standard and I though Marna too looked a player of genuine potential to play at a higher level. From our point of view I would say that frustratingly the two players who stood out in the same context both emerged from our subs' bench - perhaps that was the difference at the end of the day and what swung a very close game at the close away from us. Who knows? it might not have panned out that way had they been in the starting line up but Green and Caryol continue to show to me that they are indeed players of class with great technique but lacking (and no-one can blame for this) the experience to produce consistently and finish off their fantastic approach work. That will come in time if they are afforded the patience and respect their undoubted talent deserve...................you can't buy experience like they are getting and you can't buy talent like they possess when you are at OUR level because such talent is simply priceless and I DO feel we should appreciate these youngsters and give them time to grow into a type of football that is completely alien to the sort they have developed in, but unfortunately the type of football we ply our trade in.

So, the slog to the play offs goes on and although we lost today we have to remain positive and look forward to reversing the result when the Poppies come to Plainmoor in little over a month's time.

Just a couple of brief points before I head off to sleep with a body full of ibuprofen to get rid of a stinking headache, and imodium stopping the shits from the Kettering horse burger!!

Game really was dross until Buckle brought on Carayol and Green, and later (too late) Christie.

First 13 minutes we never got going, rest of the half wasn't much better although Kettering seemed fairly happy that we weren't going to score and cantered through it really.

Nicho's goal was a bullet of the highest order!

Second half much better, Kettering had only a couple of chances while we were pushing forward more and more.

But again it's the other 'c' word that cost us - COMPOSURE!

Carayol, Christie (twice), Green, Wroe, Robertson, Sills all could have scored equalisers/winners. Lee Harper also made an incredible reaction save seconds into the second half from a deflected long ranger from Wroe - had that gone in we would have won comfortably.

Buckle MUST start Carayol, Green and Christie next game with Sills, Dsane and Benyon stepping down. Strange decision to take Carlisle off when he was coming into the game and Roscoe was having an absolute shocker.

I've been a fan, but that was the worst I have ever seen him play...needs to be dropped and quickly...was taking some wicked stick from some in the crowd as well (lots of people in our end there I didn't recognise, perhaps a contingent from Leeds?)

We missed Hargreaves and to a lesser extent Woods.

And, finally on to non football matters, if Merse ever mentions my rare navigational errors again, he needs to remember going round at least four roundabouts after missing turn offs, and going off at the wrong exit despite his navigator saying 'no not that way, no not that way, no not that way!!

Thanks Andy and jmgull for your reports, hope those head pains go soon Andy, merse miss a turn, surely not ;D Jim its games like that makes you wonder why you do travel those 470 miles, respect to you and all the others for doing it and trying to play your part as a supporter, just need the team now to start doing their part properly