Bastock's delight as Kettering Town 'stand tall' to secure fine away win

Paul Bastock had a novel explanation for the way Kettering Town ground their way to a fine 1-0 win at Southport to keep their Vanarama National League North dreams alive.
Decarrey Sheriff's penalty finds the net as Kettering Town claimed a 1-0 victory at Southport. Pictures by Peter ShortDecarrey Sheriff's penalty finds the net as Kettering Town claimed a 1-0 victory at Southport. Pictures by Peter Short
Decarrey Sheriff's penalty finds the net as Kettering Town claimed a 1-0 victory at Southport. Pictures by Peter Short

Decarrey Sheriff’s second-half penalty, awarded after a foul on Callum Stead, was enough for the Poppies to secure a notable league double over the Sandgrounders, who currently occupy the final play-off spot.

Kettering’s victory, their second in a row, moved them to within three points of Southport to set up a huge showdown with sixth-placed York City at Latimer Park on Tuesday night.

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The Poppies had to defend resolutely after that, particularly in the latter stages as the hosts piled the pressure on.

And assistant-manager Bastock made an interesting comparison in his post-match assessment.

“It’s the nature of the beast, when you get something, you protect it,” he said.

“It’s like when you’re in a nightclub with your missus and she’s a worldie, you’re not going to let anyone steal her!

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“That’s what we were doing. We were 1-0 up and they were very reliant on throw-ins, free-kicks and corners so we needed to stand tall. Every one of them stood tall and dealt with it.

Poppies goalkeeper Jackson Smith shows his delight after securing a clean sheetPoppies goalkeeper Jackson Smith shows his delight after securing a clean sheet
Poppies goalkeeper Jackson Smith shows his delight after securing a clean sheet

“When you come here, you’d take a win all day long but the priority for us was that we wanted to get a clean sheet and that’s something to build on.

“We worked on things on Thursday and you could see little patterns of play, which was good.

“And the lads showed their desire at the end.”