Spennymoor success is one of the best for Kettering boss Cox

The Kettering Town players and fans celebrate after Jason Law's late goal egave them a 2-1 success at Spennymoor Town. Pictures by Peter Short

The Poppies’ superb run of form since Cox arrived at the end of October continued in dramatic fashion in the north-east.

After a goalless first half, they fell behind when Glen Taylor’s deflected free-kick went in off the underside of the crossbar.

But Kettering levelled through Matthew Taylor before they snatched victory through an unlikely hero in the final moments of stoppage-time.

Jason Law, who only joined the Poppies on loan from Mansfield Town on Friday, fires home the stoppage-time winner at Spennymoor

Youngster Jason Law only joined the Poppies on loan from Mansfield Town on Friday but he came off the bench and hammered a shot home from the edge of the box to secure another valuable win for Kettering.

The victory moved Cox’s team up to 17th in the table as they remain five points clear of the relegation zone.

And, when asked if that was the best result since he arrived, he said: “It’s one of the better ones, in terms of results it has to be right up there.

“Performance-wise, we have been better with the ball but in terms of heart and desire and the will to go and win a game from home, it has to rank up there.

Paul Cox gives Jason Law some final instructions before he came off the bench to hit the winner for Kettering

“It’s a really tough place to go, especially when you go 1-0 down but the boys deserve all the credit for the character they have shown.

“Even when we got back in the game at 1-1, some of the defending and the ability to throw themselves in front of shots was immense.

“We have gone to a side who have had a fantastic season and who don’t lose many at home and we have ground out a really impressive win.

“We have never made any excuses, whatever has been thrown at us we have just got on with it.

“That’s why, when I look at the support we took up there and the way the players and the fans celebrated, I know we are as one.

“We know there are certain things we can improve on but, at the moment, we have a group of players who want to win and they deserve the plaudits.”

Cox, whose team take on Brackley Town at Latimer Park on Tuesday night, reserved a word of praise for loanee Law who made himself an instant hero with the Poppies fans with the dramatic winner.

“We knew he could do that, we know the strengths of every player we look at,” the Kettering manager added.

“He was probably a bit unlucky to start on the bench but he has come on and shown great effort and shown some real quality with the strike.

“He’s a good addition to the squad and he deserved the goal. He put his foot on the ball and made us tick a little bit.”