Bad night as Poppies, Diamonds and Steelmen all lose

Clubs were back in the swing of things after the weekend’s matches were postponed as a mark of respect following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and all teams observed a minute’s silence before their games.

But the Poppies’ early-season struggles continued as they slipped to a fourth defeat of the campaign with Dan Turner’s second-half goal proving decisive for Leamington.

It means Kettering have registered just one win in their first eight league matches ahead of an Emirates FA Cup second qualifying round clash at lower-ranked Barwell on Saturday.

The problems continue to mount for AFC Rushden & Diamonds as their winless start to the Southern League Premier Central campaign continued with a 2-0 defeat at Stratford Town.

The hosts took the lead inside the first two minutes through Daniel Vann and then doubled their advantage 18 minutes from full-time with Dexter Walters on target.

Andy Burgess’ team have picked up just two points from their first seven league matches, a run that has left them at the foot of the table.

It was also a disappointing night for Corby Town as they were knocked out of the FA Trophy in the first qualifying round.

The Steelmen were beaten 3-1 at manager Lee Attenborough’s former club Loughborough Dynamo with a Dan Gordon goal proving to be only a consolation.

While they are unbeaten in the Northern Premier League Midlands, the Steelmen have now exited the FA Cup and FA Trophy at the first hurdle this season.

But they will get a chance for some swift revenge when they host Loughborough at Steel Park on Saturday in a league encounter.