DAVENTRY TOWN 0 KETTERING TOWN 3: MATCH REPORT...

 Poppies Flourish In Purple Mist

Daventry Town 0 Kettering Town 3

Ali Worby wonders whether everyone has gone home...

As flames sprang up from a pitch-side barbecue at Communications Park, I recalled the burning of fuel along the edges of runways at World War Two aerodromes to lift fog and allow aircraft to land and take off in pea-soup conditions. It was called 'FIDO', the Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation. Unfortunately for the expectant home fans, Daventry failed to take off, as the mist surrounded them and they were soundly beaten by a very competent Kettering outfit, which was dominant in virtually all departments of the game. 0-3 looks like an emphatic scoreline but a couple of fine saves by Daventry's Richard Morris actually kept the score down to three, as the hosts laboured to create anything worthy of note, bar a Confue header and two rare stops by the outrushing Poppies' 'keeper Alistair Worby. It was a struggle for both teams to resist hoiking the ball into the swirling mist during the opening exchanges but it was Kettering who settled with more confidence and in truth, dominated the latter stages too, as Daventry's heads dropped and tempers became frayed. A schoolteacher-like referee sought to claim instant control over the proceedings by sending Daventry's Tom Berwick to the touchline to add some dark tape  to camouflage the white ankle areas of his purple socks, apparently... Discipline, that's what this country needs! Kettering's fans would enjoy how the evening panned out, however.

The toss...

James Husband was beaten to the ball by Worby, after Daventry's Tom James had clipped in a pass from the left-side and both Berwick then central defender Henry Eze had miscalculated the flight. Eze was prominent aerially, as Daventry simply hammered the ball forwards high and long but surprised even his own fans when he made a mazy dribble through the centre, only for the promising move to break down. Quite suddenly, Andy Gooding found himself with an instant shooting chance at inside-left but the advancing Morris was equal to it, diving left to parry. High balls were still being punted too often, too long, too high and too quickly, as the tension hung like the mist in the corners. Kettering were having the better of the game, as Luke Keen and Berwick received negligible service from their rather sluggish and outfought midfield unit. And then James Clifton, who had actually miscued a couple of times for the visitors already, lifted a pass towards Jonathan Thorpe on the right flank and the winger did well to latch onto the ball, muscled James out of the way and fired a low angled 10 yard cross-shot past Morris and into the far bottom corner of the Daventry net, giving the Poppies a thoroughly deserved lead.

Contrasting emotions: 0-1...

Kettering lead...

Thorpe is about to strike...

Husband raised hopes for the home team on the left byeline and yet his right-footed centre flew beyond everyone but the shots were coming from Kettering, for whom both Chris Logan and Josh Moreman had fired wide of the left upright from 20 yards or so. Moreman began to threaten more and did so well to reach the left byeline before finding the side-netting, then at the opposite end, when James' service was finally actually headed down by Keen, Berwick's ambitious volley from inside-left, 20 yards out, was miscued into the ground and bounced well wide of the near post. A poor left-wing corner by Kettering still found a Poppy player and with Daventry reeling, Eze leaned back to fire wide of the left post from 17 yards. When Eze finally misjudged yet another punt by Daventry, for they were still employing that tactic, Berwick looked lively but his low effort was smothered by Worby, who grabbed the loose ball with no challenge from a purple-shirted player. Soon, the guests won a left-wing corner and Eze simply moved from his marker, Adam Confue, dropped a couple of yards and smacked an unchallenged header into the roof of the net, past the scooping left hand of the standing Morris, who was so annoyed at his lack of defensive cover, that even Poppy defender Tom Hull was left unmarked at the vital moment too. Kettering celebrated and even then, Daventry, misfiring in almost every aspect of their game, looked doomed.

Eze is mobbed: 0-2...

Poppy fans...

Moreman was cautioned for a foul on the strangely ineffective Ross Oulton, who, like the even more strangely ineffective Husband, had given Daventry virtually no width at all, but then Keen was well defended by Eze at the expense of a fruitless corner. Confue did knock in a left-wing centre but the busy Ollie Wilkinson could only head the ball down at the far post straight at Worby. Berwick again escaped on the right for Daventry as the half expired but his poorly struck shot was pushed aside by the advancing Worby and Keen was beaten to the ball by a fine tackle from the excellent Hull. The half ended and it was a good thing that trouble had been averted by Tom James' actions, for when a Daventry player was fouled, the officials gave nothing, the Poppy player involved was hurt and so the loose ball was knocked into touch by a visiting player. A Daventry player then threw the ball down the right touchline to give possession back to Kettering but Worby took his time moving out to his left, understandably wishing to waste a moment or two, to deal with the ball, leaving I think it was Berwick, irritated at the situation and he reached the ball first and flicked it against the goalie to win a corner... Cue booing, anger, pushing and shoving in the goalmouth, so James jogged over to the corner-flag and kicked the ball out for a goal-kick. Interesting...

Trouble erupts...

After the players had slurped their half-time drinks and maybe guzzled a burger or two, the mist curled in and the reception on my iPhone wasn't great, yet wasn't this Communications Park? Yeah, right... Keen's right-side delivery nearly caused a problem for the misunderstanding Eze and Worby early in the second period but again unchallenged, they sorted it and a later Daventry corner was well flicked on by Worby's flailing glove. An awful shot by Husband pre-empted a change for Kettering, with Louis Hamilton replacing Thorpe, before Oulton was withdrawn for the introduction of Will Green for the hosts. A poor Eze header led to a lob by Keen from 26 yards but the effort was more threatening to any watching owls in the trees behind the goal-frame than to the goal-net, then almost immediately after Husband had made way for Josh O'Grady, Kettering sewed up the victory. Hamilton broke on the right side and delivered a low centre, which Logan was unable to do more than nudge on for Elliot Sandy, who had provided Kettering with a target all evening and he snapped up the opportunity, beating Morris with a smart conversion from 6 yards, with Ash Deeney, Wilkinson and home skipper Liam Dolman in chaos.

0-3 to Kettering, as Daventry skipper Liam Dolman auditions for a part in '300'...

Winning contests all over the pitch by now, Kettering threatened again, when strong left-back Steve Kinniburgh (was that a fine Scottish accent I heard?) clipped the ball towards Sandy, who nodded the ball over his marker but volleyed a shot well wide of the left upright.  Ash Robinson finally appeared for the hosts, replacing the increasingly ineffective Berwick and finally the Purples nearly scored. Confue rose to head Ryan Howell's left-wing corner down towards the near post but Gooding, ever willing, kicked it off the goal-line. Hamilton chased a long way along the left-flank to rescue a huge Poppy clearance, turned inside and fired a low centre, which rolled across the face of the Daventry goal then he broke at inside-right again but the dangerous Moreman's left-boot drive was well saved by the advancing Morris, whose parry, diving left, was hurriedly hacked away by Howell. Ash Fuller and Dubi Ogbonna replaced the extremely effective Sandy and Moreman for the guests, Keen pulled down Kinniburgh to earn a frustrated caution, Robinson looked to have been fouled in the penalty-box late on but the referee merely stared and Keen became really mad when the Poppies' defensive midfielder James Jepson, who had picked up so many loose balls, albeit not always using the ball accurately, decided to juggle the ball three or four times near the dugouts. The Daventry man's face was a picture of frustration, hate and defeat, reflecting his team's efforts on the night.

I left the ground watching Kettering's overjoyed players applauding their adoring fans, the bellows of Tom Hull still ringing around the fog-strewn Communications Park. He exemplified the Kettering ethic, yelling instructions and encouragement even in the 90th minute. I drove home to Solihull via Coventry, because the M40 was closed between J15 and the M42 and in thick fog, I felt like I was in the murky Daventry midfield: for my vision was restricted too... 

Eerie Communications Park...

Teams:  

Daventry:  Richard Morris, Ash Deeney, Tom James; Ollie Wilkinson, Liam Dolman (Capt), Adam Confue; Ross Oulton, Ryan Howell, Luke Keen, Tom Berwick, James Husband.

Subs: Will Green, Josh Blake, Marcel Simpson, Josh O'Grady, Ash Robinson.

Kettering:  Alistair Worby, James Clifton, Steve Kinniburgh (Capt), Andy Gooding, Henry Eze, Tom Hull; Jon Thorpe, James Jepson, Elliot Sandy, Josh Moreman, Chris Logan.

Subs: Ash Fuller, Ben Ford, Louis Hamilton, Dubi Ogbonna, Dan Crowie.