Kettering faced the brunt of Storm Dennis to put out a team of 15 against local rivals Towcester.
In the first half we faced into the wind making things very tricky to push forward. In the first part of the game Kettering seemed to be on the front foot and kept Towcester pinned into their half for a good portion of this time. Some great movement from Sophie Richardson down the left and Georgie Jones down the right meant we got some lovely attacking opportunities. None of these unfortunately came to fruition.
As the first half wore on the weather deteriorated. However this did not put Kettering off and some sterling effort from Sophie Reynolds and Imogen Smith in the middle of the pitch meant Towcester didn't really get many clear chances against the Kettering goal.
In defence, our players were working together really well, making sure every Towcester player had a marker. There were times when we had to call on the skills of these players and Michelle Tanser made some great tackles in the middle of the pitch to stop the flow of Towcester's forwards.
At half time it was nil and nil and Kettering were feeling this could be their day, with the wind now with them it should be easier to attack.
And attack we did. Winning numerous short corners Kettering were determined to get a goal. One of these first corners fell to Sophie Reynolds at the top of the D. She took it past the Number 1 runner, into the middle of the D and slid the ball neatly the correct side of the left post, past the outstretched body of the Towcester Keeper. A great finish.
All Kettering had to do was keep hold of this lead. As the half wore on Towcester were pushing higher and higher to get the goal they needed. This however left a lot of space for Meg Forader to use her speed up the wings and for Maria Higgins up front to drive into the D with speed and strength. Only some great tackles and saves by the Towcester defence kept her at bay. Cath Irvin finding herself as attacking center mid worked well with Higgins and had a great chance on goal from close range to be foiled at the last moment by a last ditch block by the Towcester keeper to keep Kettering from getting their second.
At the other end of the pitch with Towcester were pressing high, Kettering were finding it hard to get out of defence once the ball was won. However every member of the Kettering team tracked back to mark and help out. One of Towcester's better chances fell to their centre forward who drove into the middle of the D. However Katie Wolveridge, player of the match, made a superb block tackle to stop her in her tracks, saving Kettering's 3 points.
The last 2 minutes seem to last about 10 as Kettering held on and fought to keep the 3 points they deserved.
When the final whistle went the whole team had a sigh of relief. Finally one of our good performances got us the win we deserved.
Next stop University of Nottingham 2s.