Boss McDonald believes Poppies earned their late 'luck' as Sporting are edged out

Ben Isaacson's 45th-minute header proved to be enough to secure a fifth win in six matches for the Poppies, who remain 11th and seven points outside the play-off places, but with games in hand on all of the teams above them.

But they had to withstand a late aerial onslaught from relegation-threatened Bromsgrove, who are managed by former Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and England goalkeeper Tim Flowers.

And although McDonald felt the Poppies goal led something of a charmed life late on, he felt his team had done enough to win the game.

"We defended really well at the end, and had that little bit of luck as well," said McDonald.

"Anything is possible at this moment in time, but we are going to need a bit of luck and we certainly got that at the end with a bit of a goalmouth scramble.

"The games against teams at the bottom, we are preparing for it to be a dogfight and it is not going to be pretty.

"Two months ago in that game we draw or get beat, now we are keeping clean sheets and defending well, and Whitey (goalkeeper Paul White) hasn't had too much to do to be honest.

"If they had scored at the end I think it would have been unfair, and I think we just about deserved the win. It was a good afternoon's work."

And he added: "We knew it was going to be a bit of an onslaught towards the end, because their central defenders were just banging it forward and there were bodies everywhere.

"Bromsgrove do that very well, they make a mess of the six-yard box, and it was a hard-fought win and I am so proud of the boys that they keep defying the odds a little bit. It is a good day at the office."

Kettering have the chance to move up to at least eighth in the Premier Central table and to within four points of the top five if they can beat Alvechurch at home on Tuesday night (ko 7.45pm).

Quotes courtesy of Peter Short