On-song Noel-Williams seals crucial win as title-chasing Kettering Town go second
Kettering Town came from behind to secure a crucial victory against Alvechuch at Latimer Park on Tuesday night and go back up to second in the table and to within two points of the summit of the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central.
On a day when folks were flipping their pancakes, Kettering could not afford to toss aside another opportunity to close the gap on leaders Bedford Town.
And they made lives difficult for themselves just six minutes in, when a simple corner towards the near post was nodded in by Archie Crowther who was completely alone in the area.
It was just the start to the game the Poppies did not want on an edgy evening.
Kettering dominated the possession yet again and proved you can play football and pass accurately on this Latimer Park surface.
But too many aimless, hopeful balls towards Wes York, who was the stand-in frontman were easily repelled by the visitors.
Even more concerning was the quality of delivery from corners and set pieces.
Kettering had six corners in total during the first half and only one made it beyond the first defender in a green shirt.
The frustration was audible among the supporters around the ground.
The Poppies barely managed one effort on target throughout the 45 minutes.
A shot on the edge of the area did finally come on 40 minutes, but it was easily caught by visiting goalkeeper Dale Eve.
However, Poppies boss Richard Lavery has delivered quite a few words of wisdom this season during the break and they worked their magic in the second half.
It took 10 minutes for Kettering to draw level.
Andi Thanoj was now on set-piece duty, and he delivered a pinpoint cross from Wes York to nod over the stranded Eve.
After levelling the scores, Kettering sat back again and looked satisfied with the point.
But within the final period they came alive again.
On 79 minutes, Connor Johnson collected the ball on the right after an initial attack came to nothing, and his ball across the face of goal was pounced on by Isiah Noel-Williams.
The in-form Poppies man beat the onrushing keeper and sent the ball flying into the net - and that sparked incredible excitement at Latimer Park!
Noel-Williams should have made the game safe with three minutes to go when one-on-one with Eve, but the shot-stopped spread himself brilliantly to deny Kettering a third goal.
Nevertheless, following on from Saturday’s 2-0 victory at Leiston, Kettering have now put back-to-back wins together against good sides to reignite their charge on the league title.
There are 10 games to go folks and it's only going to get more tense!
St Ives are the visitors on Saturday at Latimer Park where the Poppies can go top if they win, as leaders Bedford Town are without a game.