23-09-22. Match preview Vs Kettering Town

Preview: Phil Lench

The Harriers will be making the short trip over to Kettering Town tomorrow in the hope of three points and a move back up the table. Following the draw at home to AFC Fylde a couple of weeks back they’ve dropped down from third to seventh since beating Peterborough Sports at the end of August. A win tomorrow could see them climb to the heady heights of second if they were to improve their goal difference by bagging a load past our former loanee Cameron Gregory and every team above us were to lose.

Gregory came to us on loan from Shrewsbury Town in August 2019 and was supposed to stay with us until the new Year but, due to injury, he was recalled by the Shrews in November having played thirteen games for us. He was never that convincing though and there always looked the likelihood of a mistake in him at some point during a game. He left Shrewsbury to join up with Kettering soon after the end of last season.

Another former Red at Latimer Park is the much travelled Andre Wright who, at the age of twenty six, has had ten clubs since he left us for a second time in February 2018. His four goals in thirty games, all told, for us possibly sums up why he’s never stayed long in any town although he did score sixteen times while he was with the Irish side Bohemians in 2020.

We have a few doubts for this game with the ongoing saga of Alex Penny and Tom Owen-Evans seemingly no nearer fitness levels and now we have Joe Foulkes possibly out injured with a foot injury that came at the end of last weeks FA Cup tie at home to Tamworth. Hopefully it’ll be nothing to worry about but he looked to be in a lot of pain as he was being treated while his team mates celebrated the win with the fans.

Hopefully too we’ll see more game time for Amari Morgan-Smith in an effort to increase our shortcomings up front where we’ve only scored eleven times in nine games compared to table topping Kings Lynns twenty two goals in ten games. Even Kettering have scored more goals than us and they’re struggling near the bottom of the table. Although we’re amongst the more secure teams defensively our goal rate has to be a big worry for us.

As always this is yet another game that we need to win, and aren’t they all? With the Poppies poor form of late it’s quite possible.

Teams:

Harriers from:

Palmer, Emery, Penny, Richards, Knight-Percival, Foulkes, Pearce, Margetson, Lowe, Bastable, Leak, Lissimore, Byrne, Brown, Owen-Evans, Rogers, Martin, Freemantle, Tolley, Bearne, Hemmings, Morgan-Smith, Ceesay.

Kettering Town from:

Gregory, Toseland, Gascoigne, Stohrer, Cooper, Bodnar, White, Sharpe, Sault, Hill, Reilly, Empson, Ward, Wright, Oluwabori, Sheriff, Herbert, Graham, Richard-Noel, Bennett  

Referee: Mr Richie Watkins. Nuneaton

Talk about the game here

Links to Kettering Town websites here

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