McDonald says Poppies 'buzzing' as crucial win over Quorn enhances play-off bid

The Poppies made it three victories on the spin and chalked up their eighth win in their past 10 matches, and they are now three points adrift of fourth-placed Halesowen Town and fifth-placed Quorn, with two games in hand on both.

With eight matches of the campaign remaining, the Poppies find themselves in a great position to bid for a top five finish ahead of another home date with Banbury United on Tuesday night (ko 7.45pm), with a win against the Puritans meaning Kettering will rise to at least fifth.

The Poppies endured a tricky start against Quorn on Saturday as Cain Noble fired the visitors into a seventh minute lead before Ben Isaacson levelled 11 minutes later.

Quorn were then rocked by the sending off of Ethan Young on 38 minutes for a foul on Eddie Panter, and they were made to pay as Panther then fired the Poppies ahead on 62 minutes, with Isaacson's second six minutes later sealing the points.

It was a great day for Kettering, and McDonald said: "It was always going to be a difficult game. With the run we have been on, and the teams we have played, Quorn are the best we have taken on.

"We were disappointed with the first 10 minutes, because we know they are good on the counter-attack, we know they are good at turning the game into a bit of a tennis match, and we said we had to stay away from that, or we will get beat.

"Our performance in the first half was okay and they have then gone down to 10 men, which was a red card, but they had beaten Real Bedford recently with 10, so we knew it was still going to be tough.

"In the second half we were on top and we made that extra man count and we were deserved winners.

"Again, it was our set-pieces and we just seem to be scoring from them frequently. Whenever we have a corner now, the whole crowd get up, and it's like having a penalty!

"To win 3-1 against a team that is one of the best in the division is great.

"Is it a statement win? I think it's just part of our journey and we have got another eight cup finals to go.

"We need to just keep playing as we are, and Banbury will be really tough on Tuesday night, and we are tired.

"It would have been interesting if it had stayed 11 v 11 because I do rate Quorn highly, but the boys are buzzing, and we deserved the win."

The Poppies entertain a Banbury side that have picked up just one point from the past nine available to them, having won seven out of eight prior to that. The Puritans are managed by ex-Poppies defender Kelvin Langmead.

Interview by Peter Short