Hollyhead happy but not getting carried away after Kettering Town's 100 per cent start

But the Poppies boss is not going to let himself get carried away by his side's 100 per cent start to the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central season - insisting he simply focused on the next game, at home to Barwell on Saturday.

First-half goals from Nile Ranger and Alfie Lewis put Kettering in control, before Kai Fifield slotted home on the rebound after Ranger's 73rd-minute penalty had been saved to put the icing on the cake.

It was a second straight win for the Poppies, who secured a dramatic 4-3 success at Royston on Saturday thanks to Eddie Oppong's stoppage time strike, and leaves them sitting in second place in the embryonic league table, as one of only two sides with a 100 per cent record intact.

Bishops Stortford are the team leading the way after their 6-1 demolition of AFC Sudbury on Tuesday, but the Poppies are hot on their heels and Hollyhead was very happy with his team's performance in their first home game of the season.

"I am delighted with the result," said the Poppies boss. "There are a lot of really important ingredients we saw there.

"The clean sheet obviously was hugely needed, but the overriding feature for me was the work-rate, the structure we had and the desire from the boys.

"We played on Saturday, it was 28 or 30 degrees, but I think we saw every player committed to the cause, and we can't underestimate how good Leiston are.

"We are not getting carried away, it's a good result, but it needed a lot of hard work and discipline to get it."

The controlled manner in which Kettering secured the three points was in marked contrast to the chaos of Saturday's opener at Royston, which saw the teams share six goals in a frenetic first half before Oppong's late heroics.

And Hollyhead feels there are a few explanations for that.

"We are at home, the pitch is a bit bigger than it was on Saturday and that allowed us to play in a slightly different way," said the former Banbury United boss.

"We have to give respect to the fact Leiston have probably had to travel three hours to get to the game, they played on Saturday as well, they didn't make any changes.

"So there are so many small ingredients, rather than just focusing on the outcome, but that took a lot of hard work and commitment from the guys over the past three days."

Asked if opening the season with successive wins had perhaps put his new-look team ahead of schedule after their summer rebuild, Hollyhead shrugged off the question.

"We play Barwell on Saturday, and that is ultimately the only thing we need to focus on," said the Poppies manager.

"All the rest will take care of itself, and I know that sounds a little bit boring, but it is now all about what we do between now and Saturday."

A crowd of more than 1,300 turned out at Latimer Park, and there were great scenes of celebration at the end.

And Hollyhead is just pleased he was able to send the fans home happy.

"I think everyone could see the connection with the supporters," he said. "There is nothing like a good feeling on both sides of the boards."

Barwell will arrive at Latimer Park on Saturday sitting in 10th place in the table, having won one and lost one of their two fixtures to date.

The Leicestershire side kicked off with a 3-2 win over St Ives Town on Saturday, but were then beaten 3-1 at Halesowen Town on Tuesday night.

Interview by Peter Short