Last-gasp Oppong strike downs Crows as Poppies get season off to winning start

You will do well to find a crazier start to a league season with six goals scored in the first half, a late injury to a goalkeeper and a number of players dropping to the floor with cramp before a last-gasp thunderbolt sealed a win.

With a whole host of new faces for Poppies fans to learn, it would be three familiar ones who would score three of their goals.

And a fourth in Wes York who's introduction in the second half steadied the ship after a franetic opening period.

An early warning came after just 90 seconds when Josey Iaciofano was bravely blocked by Paul White, but the Poppies keeper was caught unaware on four minutes when Crow's new boy Josh Boorn snatched at a shot from outside the area, but the ball had just enough on it to trickle past the out-stretched hand of the Poppies keeper.

Instead of letting the setback distract them, Kettering hit back seven minutes later when captain George Forsyth got on the end of a low corner and sent the ball goalwards with a final touch from Archie Crowther putting it over the line.

The early goals kept coming with Kettering taking a 2-1 lead on 15 minutes - Connor Stanley's cross from the right nodded home by Nile Ranger at the far post.

But this time it was Royston's turn to show determination and hit back themselves after another piece of woeful defending from Kettering allowed captain Adam Murrary to slide the ball to fall towards Boorn, who grabbed his brace by beating White's near side and snook the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Boorn was deined a first half hattrick by White who's acrobatic save to his left kept the Crows at bay.

But again White will feel he could have done better for Royston's third goal when Joey passed the ball over the line beyond the stranded Kettering keeper, on 45 minutes.

Thinking that they were going into the changing room behind, Kettering's Jamar Loza had other ideas and a long ball was gratefully received by the former Leiston striker, who made keeper Jamie Head look foolish, putting him on his backside with a caressed finish low into the left corner from just inside the area.

Typically after a six-goal fest in the first half, there was little to talk of in the second half. Stanley's fierce effort on 63 minutes was kept out by Head as Kettering looked the more likely to grab the next goal.

But with minutes to go and confidence growing, Royston had two glorious chances to grab all three points.

White again was left stranded and a pass towards subsitute Harrison Rookard towards an open goal should have been finished off by last-dtich defending by Will Glennon saved the Poppies blushes.

Two minutes into stoppage time, the same man had all the time in the World to place his shot inside the area but White stood up with a fine save.

Boorn received a very late yellow card for an unneccassarily wreckless challenge on keeper White who had to leave the field with the clock now showing 10 minutes of stoppage time played.

With no subsitute keeper on the bench, manager Simon Hollyhead threw the gloves to defender Lewis White, but he was rarely troubled and up the other end the visitors threw caution to the wind - eventually making the breakthrough when a Loza shot was well blocked but the ball was picked up by substitute Oppong on the right hand side before cutting in and curling a wonder shot beyond the desparing Head to break Crows hearts.

If this is how the new Hollyhead era is going to be played out, we're in for a rollercoaster of a season!

The Poppies have a quick turnaround, taking on Leiston at Latimer Park on Tuesday night.