Law happy to see Poppies 'come through it' at St Ives

Marcus Law was pleased to see his Kettering Town players come through a tricky test as they made it five wins in a row with a 2-1 success at St Ives Town.
Adam Cunnington made an impressive impact from the bench as he helped Kettering Town to a fifth win in a row as they triumphed 2-1 at St Ives Town. Pictures by Peter ShortAdam Cunnington made an impressive impact from the bench as he helped Kettering Town to a fifth win in a row as they triumphed 2-1 at St Ives Town. Pictures by Peter Short
Adam Cunnington made an impressive impact from the bench as he helped Kettering Town to a fifth win in a row as they triumphed 2-1 at St Ives Town. Pictures by Peter Short

Despite enjoying plenty of first-half possession, the Poppies found themselves 1-0 down at the break to a Robbie Parker penalty.

But, having tweaked his team’s tactics at the break and throwing striker Adam Cunnington into the action from the bench, Law saw his team fire back as goals from Aaron O’Connor and Rhys Hoenes sent them to another three points, although Dan Holman saw his second-half penalty saved.

Marcus Law watches on from the sidelinesMarcus Law watches on from the sidelines
Marcus Law watches on from the sidelines
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With second-placed Stourbridge also winning, it means the Poppies remain five points clear at the top of the Evo-Stik League South Premier Division Central while still having two games in hand.

And Law was content with how the latest success panned out.

The Poppies boss said: “To say we did it the hard way is a bit harsh. The performance was of a very good standard.

“You have to give credit to St Ives. Their game plan made life extremely difficult for us.

Dan Holman sees his second-half penalty saved by St Ives goalkeeper Martin ConwayDan Holman sees his second-half penalty saved by St Ives goalkeeper Martin Conway
Dan Holman sees his second-half penalty saved by St Ives goalkeeper Martin Conway

“They used the narrow pitch to their advantage and when we got into their box, they had 10 players in there defending well.

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“They set their stall out to make it difficult and there was a bit of frustration around the dressing-room at half-time because we dominated possession but we didn’t hit the target as much as we should have done.

“But we didn’t panic and I have to give credit to our boys.

“We had to change the dynamic of the way we were playing so we put Adam on there and he knew he had to go out and play at a good level and he did.

“Aaron put two misses in the first half behind him and scored a good goal and Rhys’ strike was outstanding.

“I am very pleased because we had to make changes to suit the conditions and the opposition and we have come through it.”

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Law, meanwhile, admitted he was happy with his team’s current winning streak.

And he believes three wins in a row after their dramatic 2-1 success at Stourbridge at the end of last month shows they “are not resting on our laurels”.

“We have had a good run of wins and that is pleasing to see,” Law added.

“I am also happy that we have backed up the victory at Stourbridge with three more after it.

“I think that sends out a message that we are not resting on our laurels and not getting complacent.”