Poppies boss Lavery: Now let’s go and win the league!

Boss Richard Lavery applauds the Poppies fans after the Doncaster defeat (Picture: Peter Short)

It was great while it lasted, but the FA Cup is done and dusted for Kettering Town for another season - and boss Richard Lavery has already refocused his sights on claiming league title glory at the end of April.

The Poppies' superb cup run ended on Sunday with a gutsy 2-1 extra-time defeat at the hands of Sky Bet League Two promotion chasers Doncaster Rovers, with Lavery's side getting to within 15 minutes of another big upset.

The Poppies were targeting a second straight win over EFL opposition, having beaten Northampton Town 2-1 at Sixfields in the first round at the beginning of November.

And as the clock hit the 75-minute mark the Poppies fans will have been dreaming of another big scalp and a place in the third round as they led 1-0 thanks to Isiah Noel-Williams' high-class strike after 30 minutes.

But veteran Billy Sharp was the man to step up and quash those dreams of glory, first stabbing home a close-range equaliser to take the game into extra-time, and then drilling home what proved to be the winner midway through the extra period.

The Poppies could still be very proud of their efforts, and Lavery certainly was, before making it clear he is now setting his sights on going on and clinching the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central title.

Kettering are four points clear at the top ahead of Saturday's trip to struggling Banbury United (ko 3pm), and Lavery said: "We couldn't have done any more in the FA Cup, and our main focus now is on the league.

"I want to now go on and win the league, and I will say that openly.

"I think we can do that, because we have got a good team, and everybody watching that game on television on Sunday will have seen how good we are.

"What has happened in the FA Cup can hopefully spur us on to go and win the league, because I think we are good enough."

Looking back on the Doncaster clash, Lavery said: "I am gutted but so proud. What we have has been a great achievement, but it had to come to an end at some point.

"In the first half I thought we were the better team, and then I think they edged the seciond half, but we stayed in the game.

"We could have even nicked a goal at the end of the game to take it to penalties, but it wasn't to be."