The day starts with a game of “Where’s Ollie?” At the meet, as expected? Err, no, a phone call ascertains that he is in Birmingham! Oh. He is still coming to play, right? Oh yes, see you guys in Kettering. On arrival at the astro, no sign. Come push-back time, still no sign. Two minutes later, ah, here he is! He didn’t even miss any game time (as a result of this…), as the previous match had overrun. Finely judged.

By contrast Kettering were present and correct half-an-hour in advance and having the sort of vigorous warm-up and team talk one would expect ahead of a top-of-the-table clash. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail? Not really, as the match starts off pretty even with both teams trying to move the ball around crisply. Fifteen minutes in, and the opening goal arrives – for Kettering. They turn us over high up the pitch, and then neatly exploit a widespread failure to mark to end up with two completely free players in our circle, one of whom sweeps home.

We need a quick response. Rob nearly provides it within a minute as he gets a stick to one of Dave’s Big Bertha strikes into the circle, but the ball crashes back off the post and is ferreted away. No matter, we have now taken charge with the match mostly being played in the Kettering half, and with this comes opportunities. One is the result of Jimmy’s coruscating run down the left getting him round the outside of the Kettering defence. He pulls it back to Rob whose attempt is saved, only for the rebound to break to Oli, who coolly takes his time and threads the needle between the covering defender and the near post.

The last fifteen of the opening half sees us continuing to exert heavy pressure, with Jimmy’s runs down the left flank to the fore. The ball repeatedly pings around the Kettering circle during this period, with one such melee ending with what appeared to be a second South goal ruled out due to the whistle blowing for a short corner just before it had been flicked home. Dang. Rob’s shot from the subsequent shortie is a clean connection, but with a slight radar problem. Dang. Dave is also unable to get away a clean strike as further injects just won’t zip onto sticks properly. Dang, dang, dang. We turn around level, but with the team definitely feeling this is ours to win given the chances we've been creating.

Kettering don’t agree though, and up their intensity early in the second period, putting our defence under much more concerted pressure than their sporadic efforts in the later stages of the opening half. To do this they are using a high press, which is a risk/reward calculation that backfires on them. A ball is won in midfield. The Kettering defence collectively push up to halfway to try and smother. Rob peels thirty yards behind them. Oli spots him and feeds a fine ball through. Rob is all on his lonesome, and able to advance one-on-one with the keeper. He ignores the lob (wisely, given last week). He also ignores the pre-game advice to use the Kettering stopper’s tendency to rush from his line against him by going round (advice supplied by one R. Barton). Instead it’s a power shot, which nutmegs the goalie as he is beaten for pace.

OK, we are ahead, away at our closest rivals in the table. Let’s do nothing stupid. Like disputations with the umpire about the absence of an expected free-hit (Kenzie!). Eleven-a-side was fine, but ten against eleven proves a struggle as Kettering come on strong. They nearly level when one of their kids jabs past George and gets wiped out for his audacity. The ball rolls free, a forward gets there just before our defensive stick to prod home, but the whistle had already sounded for a short. Just a short. Could it have been a flick on another day? Maybe, but the umpire is firm in her call that it wasn’t a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Backs-to-the-wall defending sees us survive the five minutes shorthanded, and once we return to eleven-a-side we can be more assertive again. Jimmy, by now switched to the right, has Kettering terrified with his pace. Time and again he receives, knocks it into space, blasts past his direct marker and has their defence turned and scrambling. One such run ends with a misjudged desperation tackle that provides the short corner from which we seal it, Dave finally getting a ball at the top of the circle with enough time and space to crack a shot that the keeper can’t kick away. The remaining time is played out with the only notable incident being JJ demonstrating that it isn’t possible to aerial a ball when an opponent is standing directly in front of you. Who’da thunk it?

That makes it two wins out of two in the triumvirate of games against the other leading sides in 6NW(S). Bring on Ely 2nds next week.