Poppies stop the rot on the road as they fight back for a fine point at Darlington

The Poppies made the long trek to the north-east on the back of a six-game losing run on the road in which they had failed to score a goal but, despite going 2-0 down at Blackwell Meadows, Lee Glover’s team battled back to ensure the points were shared.

The point was enough to take the hosts to the top of the table on goal difference while Kettering remain just above the relegation zone and now two clear of Bradford (Park Avenue).

It looked like the same old story was developing when Darlington moved into a 2-0 lead inside the first 26 minutes.

Jacob Hazel opened the scoring from a Jack Lambert pass and Hazel struck again when a long ball forward released Kaine Felix and he squared to Hazel to finish it off.

But Kettering hit back three minutes later when a mistake in the home defence was seized upon by Sam Bennett who duly found the net for his third goal of the season and the Poppies’ first on the road in the league since September 3.

And it got even better three minutes before half-time when, following a corner, the Poppies kept the pressure on and centre-half George Cooper found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Tommy Taylor and made no mistake.

There were chances for both sides after the break with Bennett being denied by Taylor while Cameron Gregory tipped a Lambert effort over the bar but honours ended even.

The Poppies will now be hoping to maintain their impressive form at Latimer Park of late when they take host Gloucester City on Tuesday night.