Kettering Town on the up as they secure confident victory at Stourbridge

Crisis, what crisis? This win has seen the Poppies rise to third in the table, just three points behind leaders Bedford Town by three points – with four games in hand!

Richard Lavery and his squad are doing their level best to make any naysayers look silly, following up a solid 3-0 home over Barwell last week win with an even more complete performance, this time away from home against a side with serious play-off ambitions of their own.

In a world of instant gratification and entitlement, six weeks of poor results might seem like a lifetime to certain quarters.

But the ebb and flow of a season is to be cherished, and Saturday's win at the War Memorial was even more enjoyable for fans, having had to endure a prolonged tough spell.

Despite the constant rain throughout the day, Stourbridge were able to declare the pitch fit to play - much to the relief of Kettering who would have been keen not to add another postponement to their already growing list of outstanding fixtures.

Naming an unchanged side for the first time this season, the Poppies set about their work quickly with the strength of Nile Ranger and Isiah Noel-Williams causing early problems.

A number of dangerous corners from Ben Hart needed to be hacked away early on whilst a sharp shot from just inside the area had to be securely held by keeper Lewys Benjamin on 14 minutes.

However Ethan Freemantle was a constant threat for the hosts and had two opportunities to open the scoring.

On 24 minutes he was all alone in the box but lost his footing while taking aim and the ball rolled safely into the hands of Dan Jezeph.

Two minutes later and a long throw in from Blaine Rowe was not dealt with and again unmarked in the box, Freemantle could go for goal but sent his shot wide of the left upright.

Kettering heeded the warnings and made sure they took their next chance.

On 29 minutes, a cross from the right by Tyree Wilson was met with a firm header by Ranger. It was kept out by Benjamin but ready to pounce just yards away was Noel-Williams who rifled in from close range under the body of the Stourbridge keeper.

Hart tried his luck three minutes later after beating several red and white shirts on a solo run before seeing his goal bound shot blocked by Dominic Lewis.

At the other end Freemantle squandered another chance, shooting wide on the stroke of half-time.

There was still time for Tyrell Pennant to hit the side netting after latching onto an Andi Thanoj pass.

Now playing downhill, the Poppies made further inroads into securing the points.

Just four minutes after the restart, desire from Kelly-Evans to win a 50-50 ball on the halfway line resulted in a loose ball finding Pennant inside the Glassboys half.

He surged into the box and instead of sending a through pass towards Ranger, opted to curl a sumptuous effort past Benjamin and into the net - celebrating with a now trademark grin!

Substitute Jal Verma forced a strong save from Jezeph on 65 minutes, while moments later Benjamin denied Ranger with his own brave stop - tipping a header back off the crossbar and out for a corner.

But he was at fault for Kettering's third goal.

On 78 minutes, Kelly-Evans broke through and ran one-on-one with the keeper.

Whilst forcing Kelly-Evans wide, Benajmin brought down the Poppies midfielder giving referee Andrew Biggin no choice but to award a penalty.

Substitute Jonny Edwards no mistake in taking the opportunity to banish the demons from his last penalty miss against Stratford Town in December, and score his first goal since Boxing Day.

Stourbridge did grab a late consolation on 89 minutes when a free-kick just inside the Poppies half was launched into the box and Richard Batchelor leapt highest to nod the ball past Jezeph before poking the ball home.

Richard Lavery was afforded the chance to show off new signings Kyle Storer and Sam McLintock - both getting precious minutes in Poppies colours, although a rash tackle from McLintock on Rowe late on, right in front of the home dugout could have led to a stronger punishment than a yellow card and wouldn't have been the best introduction to a new club!

The clinical performance in Worcestershire is the perfect preparation for what will be a humdinger of a tie against table-topping Bedford Town, under the lights at the Eyrie this Friday night.

A draw certainly wouldn't harm the Poppies due to the number of games in hand they have over the rest of the league but you can bet your bottom dollar that manager is thinking only one thing - win.