Bastock wants Kettering Town to maintain the momentum

The Poppies made it two wins in a row as Decarrey Sheriff’s second-half penalty earned them a fine 1-0 victory at Southport on Saturday.

That win kept Kettering’s outside chances of clinching a top-seven finish alive as they go into this evening’s re-arranged game three points behind Southport who occupy the final play-off position.

In the last two games, the Poppies have beaten teams in that top seven and they will need to do it again tonight if they are to keep the good run going.

York will arrive at Latimer Park having suffered Buildbase FA Trophy heartbreak at the weekend as they were denied a place at Wembley when they lost 3-1 at National League side Bromley in the semi-finals.

And Kettering assistant-manager Bastock said: “They aren’t going to relish coming to Kettering, as no-one will.

“We have just got to go out there with momentum. We have got it rolling. Can we keep it rolling and make it unstoppable?

“That’s the plan for Tuesday, get the tempo up, get the fans behind us and see where it takes us.”

The Poppies’ good form has coincided with key players returning to the fold and they have another one available again tonight.

Mansfield Town loanee George Cooper returned from injury as a second-half substitute on Saturday and now captain Connor Kennedy is available again after a four-match ban.

“He is a leader both on and off the pitch,” Bastock said of Kennedy’s return.

“He’s a great lad to have around. He travelled all the way to Southport and did his running and we just need to keep him on the pitch.”

The Poppies have reduced admission prices for this evening’s game to £10 for adults, £6 for concessions (over-60s and students) and £1 for under-18s.

The club decided to reduce the prices following the inconvenience caused when the original match against York in February was postponed just over an hour before the scheduled kick-off due to a waterlogged pitch.