'Classroom' approach and resilience please Kettering Town boss Paul Cox

Cox was impressed by his side's resilience. Photo: Peter Short

Paul Cox believes the only way is up for his Kettering Town side following Saturday’s 2-1 win at York City.

Connor Kennedy and Gerry McDonagh won it for the Poppies with two fine first half strikes in a resilient performance which put last Tuesday’s defeat at Chorley to the backs of minds.

“Incredibly happy. We talked to the boys about Tuesday’s result and where we went wrong,” Cox told the club’s YouTube channel, adamant his side are pushing in the right direction.

“The one thing you can say today is that, in key parts of the game, we were resilient.

“We looked a little bit more solid.

“To come here, big crowd, the boys weren’t afraid of the atmosphere, which is a big signal for me we’re ready to go forward.

“The boys set the standards again”

Following that defeat at Chorley, Cox decided to talk tactics to his side in the build up to the clash at York.

“I probably know we need to be a bit more classroom based,” he added.

“We spoke about York and more so about ourselves. I said from the start, these boys, if they believe in themselves, can go anywhere and win, home or away.

“My big issue is the thing with consistency.

“I’m looking for the consistency next week and Tuesday night (trips to Gloucester City in the FA Trophy and Hereford in the National League North).”

Kennedy put the Poppies ahead in the fifth minute with a low drive across the face of goal.

And McDonagh doubled the advantage with 26 minutes on the click with a pinpont low drive on the spin from the edge of the Minstermen penalty area.

Seconds later and the hosts were back in the game as Sean Newton fired home a penalty after Harrison Neal was adjudged to have handled despite the ball being smashed at him from point blank range.

Cox continued: “The way the referee saw their penalty, I really don’t know, and some of the decisions were - I’ve got to be careful what I say - a little bit baffling.”