Kettering Town 1 Guiseley 1 - Jon Dunham’s review

Jon Dunham delivers his verdict on the clash and more…

Full commitment and a dash of controversy turned this into a decent game to watch

I’ll be honest, for the first 20 minutes of last night’s game, it was everything I feared it would be.

Here we had two teams who have endured stop-start beginnings to the new season and, when they have played, positive results have been few and far between.

And both teams started like they were a bit down on their luck.

By the end, we’d witness a full-blooded affair where the commitment of those involved really couldn’t be questioned, even if the quality could at times.

There were few inches given and the Poppies grabbed the lead after a poor mistake at the back from the visitors but Guiseley, who played some neat football at times, worked their way back into the contest in the second half.

The decision of referee Sam Mulhall to play on for the equaliser when the flag had gone up for offside was the right call but that was as good as it got for him on a poor night for the officials.

Call it a cheap excuse, call it bias if you wish. But justice was served when Adam Collin saved Lebrun Mbeka’s penalty (more on that shortly) while the Poppies were denied a stonewall penalty of their own when Callum Powell’s cross clearly struck an arm in the Guiseley penalty area.

In the end, a draw was the fair outcome but Kettering’s issues were nicely summed up in the final minute of stoppage-time when Lorne Bickley headed straight at Brad Wade with the goal at his mercy.

Yes, these are two teams scratching around for form at the moment but, on this evidence, it’s not for the want of trying.

Everyone wants a Connor Kennedy in their team

Tenacity, commitment, desire. These are the qualities we’ve seen from Connor Kennedy ever since his swapped Steel Park for Latimer Park.

I’ve been fortunate to have seen his development in the senior game from the early days at Corby Town, to a loan spell at AFC Rushden & Diamonds and now in the National League North with the Poppies.

The step up to Step 2 hasn’t been a problem, indeed Kennedy has flourished.

Despite his younger years, he plays like a leader, he’s a driving force and if Kettering are to haul themselves out of the early spot of bother they find themselves in then he will have a big role in it.

What is encouraging now is that Kennedy is adding goals to his game and the one in this game summed his character up nicely.

He chased down a loose ball and then showed a cool head to slide the ball past Guiseley goalkeeper Brad Wade.

He certainly showed the mis-firing attack how it should be done.

The brilliance of Adam Collin ensured justice was done

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. When Adam Collin signed for Kettering, Paul Cox was adamant that he had signed the best goalkeeper in the National League North.

And on this night, like any good judge in a court of law, Collin ensured justice was done.

First and foremost, there was no question about the actual incident that led to referee Sam Mulhall pointing to the spot as Gary Stohrer fouled Adam Haw.

It was what happened 10 seconds earlier that was the problem as Ryan Fryatt was clearly fouled.

It was crystal clear for all to see, all apart from Mr Mulhall who allowed play to continue.

The Poppies were rightly furious but Collin did what he does best to ensure justice was done as he dived to his left to push Lebrun Mbeka’s spot-kick over the crossbar.

It was a quite brilliant save to ensure Kettering weren’t punished for an incident that should never have happened.

There needs to be a serious conversation about the Latimer Park pitch

I’m going to be extremely careful how I approach this bit but it does have to be addressed.

Those behind the scenes at Kettering deserve incredible credit for the work they have done to develop Latimer Park in a ground worthy of hosting National League North football. The surroundings are as good as they have ever been.

But the pitch remains a huge problem, as it has been for years and years, long before the Poppies ever moved in.

There are good, experienced people who know what they are doing working on that surface and yet, as soon as the weather turns, it becomes a surface that is impossible to play any sort of good football on.

I’ve seen some comments online regarding Kettering playing too many long balls etc etc.

Well, you go on there and put 30 passes together on that pitch. You can’t. Trust me, I’ve played on it.

The fact is that the foundations underneath the pitch, which as I understand it is clay, ensure that once the winter arrives, the same thing will happen over and over again, regardless of what work is done to it.

So, what can be done?

Well, unless you dig it up and dig extremely deep, I am not sure how much difference laying a new grass pitch would make.

So, yes here it comes, maybe there is a conversation to be had about a 4G surface.

I am not a huge advocate for an artificial surface at this level of football but, in extreme circumstances, I think it has to be considered and I think Latimer Park is an extreme circumstance.

It is costly but there are grants available for such things and then there are the financial benefits that could come with it when it comes to hiring the facilities out.

Once the autumn and winter hits, every game at Latimer Park becomes a battle and requires the game to be played in a way that isn’t always pretty and, yes, that was even the case when the Poppies were winning the Southern League Premier Central.

The state of the pitch isn’t anyone’s fault, it’s just the way it is. But maybe an extreme change is needed to finally fix it.

The fans can’t be there to see it in person and they are already getting a bit restless - but are things really that bad?

I have a great deal of sympathy for football fans across the land at the moment.

Saturday afternoons and the odd Tuesday night are what many live for and to have that taken away through no fault of their own is gut-wrenching.

At non-League level, Kettering’s supporters and their fellow fans in the National League North are relying on their clubs to put out streams for them to watch online.

I know those on the media side of things at Latimer Park have worked overtime to try to get that side of it right but, with the good old internet, there just aren’t any guarantees no matter how hard anyone tries.

Sitting behind a screen watching a game you know you should be at is frustrating and that frustration is only amplified if things aren’t going your team’s way.

And that’s where Poppies fans find themselves.

No-one wants their team to be bottom, everyone wants their team to win every game, unless you’re a Norwich City fan like me who is desperate not to see ANOTHER promotion and ANOTHER embarrassment in the Premier League. But I digress.

From what I have seen and read online, Kettering supporters are feeling, at best, uneasy by the start their team have made.

Maybe I am too much of an optimist and wear rose tinted glasses but I certainly don’t think it’s been as bad as some have made out.

Do I see a group of players committed to the cause? From the games I’ve watched, yes.

Have I seen Kettering regularly outclassed? No.

But have I seen silly mistakes proving costly and a lack of punch in attack? Most definitely.

That’s for Paul Cox to sort out and he’s not stupid, he’s been in the game long enough to know that results talk.

But he’s also the man who dragged the Poppies out of a situation I wasn’t sure was rescueable last season. Let’s not have short memories about that.

It comes down to expectations. If anyone was expecting a season in which Kettering, who are now a small fish in a very big pond, would not have to deal with adversity at some stage then they were, quite frankly, kidding themselves.

It’s definitely not gone as Cox would have planned so far and that’s why he has already made some tweaks in personnel.

But, by the same token, the Poppies aren’t doomed to failure like some seem to make out.

If I’m wrong, I’m wrong and unlike most I’ll admit it but I’ve seen enough to suggest that there will be more to this season than just an endless struggle that ultimately ends in relegation...