It was two points dropped, says Kettering boss Cox

Kettering Town were hit by a late goal as they had to settle for a draw against Farsley Celtic
Paul Cox shares his thoughts with one of the assistant referees during Kettering Town's 1-1 draw with Farsley Celtic. Pictures by Peter ShortPaul Cox shares his thoughts with one of the assistant referees during Kettering Town's 1-1 draw with Farsley Celtic. Pictures by Peter Short
Paul Cox shares his thoughts with one of the assistant referees during Kettering Town's 1-1 draw with Farsley Celtic. Pictures by Peter Short

Paul Cox was in no doubt that Kettering Town’s 1-1 draw with Farsley Celtic represented two points dropped for his side.

The Poppies produced a decent display at Latimer Park and took a deserved second-half lead through young striker Isaac Stones who grabbed his first Vanarama National League North goal for the club when he stabbed home from close range after man-of-the-match Harrison Neal had driven the ball towards the far post.

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However, the unbeaten visitors snatched a share of the spoils late on when Luke Parkin beat Reece Davies with a good finish as the Poppies suffered a rare lapse in concentration having defended well for the majority of the contest.

Kettering's Riccardo Calder keeps tabs on Farsley's Ben McKenna at Latimer ParkKettering's Riccardo Calder keeps tabs on Farsley's Ben McKenna at Latimer Park
Kettering's Riccardo Calder keeps tabs on Farsley's Ben McKenna at Latimer Park

When asked if it was a case of two points dropped, manager Cox replied: “Absolutely. There’s no disguising it.

“I didn’t really see them scoring throughout the game and it’s a tough one to take.

“It is what it is. It was a 100 per cent better performance than last Saturday (the 3-1 defeat at Gateshead), which is what I asked for.

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“The lads have put a lot of effort in and I thought we were in control of the game right up until that period.

“Isaac is only a baby and I think he will keep scoring goals. I thought the front two (Stones and Callum Powell) were causing all sorts of problems and I think they will get stronger with the more games they play with each other.

“But in the end, it’s tough to take but we have to dust ourselves down and go again on Monday (at Gloucester City).”

Cox, meanwhile, felt there were “some strange decisions” from the officials although he refused to blame them for the final outcome.

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There was a moment of controversy in the first half when Chris Atkinson deliberately handled the ball just inside his own half as Stones looked to be sent clear in a counter-attack.

Atkinson escaped with a yellow card when it might have been more.

And Cox said: “I had words with the linesman and I think he took it personally when I was only giving him my opinion.

“I thought their goal was offside and with the handball, they were both (the referee and the assistant) saying it wasn’t a goalscoring opportunity but our player would have been in one-on-one on the goalkeeper.

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“All we want referees to be is consistent and, at the minute, in my opinion the standard of refereeing is as poor as it’s ever been.

“I just want people to be consistent and professional. There were some strange decisions throughout the game.

“I am not going to blame any decisions for the final outcome, hopefully they even themselves out during the season. It’s frustrating but not the reason we drew the game.”