Kettering Town on FA Cup cruise control as they close in on first round spot
Kettering Town continue their winning streak in all competitions to five, after comprehensively beating St Ives Town 3-0 in the Emirates FA Cup Third Qualifying Round on Saturday.
Despite an ever-growing injury list, the Poppies continue to find new ways to impress both their fans and opposition teams.
Saturday's performance was not just about flair, but also every player's desire to stand their ground and win back the ball when out of possession.
Both Isiah Noel-Williams and Luca Miller were relentless in midfield - back-tackling and finding ways to offload the ball towards another red shirt.
Whilst Tyree Wilson and the returning Bruno Andrade caused no end of headaches when running towards the St Ives backline.
Kettering took the lead after 10 minutes.
Ben Hart's cross from the right slipped past a number of bodies inside the box allowing Nile Ranger to tap in from just yards out.
St Ives tried to hit back their first visit to the Kettering third after 16 minutes but Kobe Chong's shot was easily kept out by Dan Jezeph.
Ranger proved that he is occasionally fallible at this level with a bizarre air shot on the penalty spot - completely missing the ball after a cross from the right on 18 minutes.
Wilson stung the hands of Dan Wilks in the opposite goal on 25 minutes with a fizzing shot from the right as Kettering began a period of sheer dominance - attacking at will.
Andrade doubled the lead on 31 minutes with his own ferocious shot just inside the area.
Miller then sent the large travelling fanbase delirious with the third goal - firing the ball into the top corner before Wilks could even move a muscle.
St Ives nearly ruined a perfect half of football when Jordan Willams was left all alone in the box on 45 minutes but could only nod a cross from the left over the bar.
With the tie all but over by half-time, the game was a very flat affair in the second half.
Kettering's crisp passing went awry and the effort to chase the ball understandably dipped.
But the hosts were unable to capitalise and created barely a handful of chances.
Chong shot just wide on 72 minutes whilst Alex Collard's header late on was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Jezeph to protect the clean sheet.
At the other end Noel-Williams' curled effort which went wide closely followed by Andrade's run into the box but was denied by last ditch defending by Paddy Casey were as close as Kettering got to adding a fourth goal.
Much to the disappointment of the Kettering faithful who wanted more to extend their FA Cup record tally over Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United!
The draw for the fourth qualifying round can be heard live on TalkSport radio at 1pm on Monday.
A large corner of north Northamptonshire will be listening with interest!