Match Preview - Harborough Town (A)

 

Will Nile Ranger return to the starting line up at Harborough?

HARBOROUGH TOWN v KETTERING TOWN

Richard Lavery will be hoping his team can improve on Saturday's defensive horror show at Stratford Town when they make the short trip along the A6 to face Harborough Town on New Year's Day.

The Poppies would have viewed it as two points dropped in the 3-3 draw at Stratford. Playing against ten men for 60 minutes, leading twice and missing a first half penalty to come away with just a draw would not have pleased the Kettering manager. But at this time of the year the games come thick and fast and the next challenge for Kettering's promotion push is a first ever trip to Bowden Park for a competitive fixture against struggling Harborough Town.

The match is a local derby in the sense the two clubs are only eighteen miles apart but it doesn't really have the rival feeling to it most derby games have. That is probably mainly because the two sides only have one previous competitive fixture between them, the 1-1 draw at Latimer Park back on August Bank Holiday Monday.

But you do have to say the rise Harborough have gone through the past 4-5 years is a very impressive one and one their manager, former Poppies assistant manager Mitch Austin deserves credit for. I am sure Mitch would have been hoping for a far better league campaign than The Bees are having but of course they had their historic FA Cup run that ended in a brave defeat at Reading. Harborough have to much quality in their side to go down and I'm sure by the end of the season they will have comfortably stayed in the division.

As with games where two clubs are close to each other geographically there are a number of links between the two clubs. As well as an ex Poppy as their manager Harborough's squad includes ex Kettering players Liam Dolman, Connor Kennedy, Joel Carta, Gary Mulligan, Paul Malone, Ben Stephens and Jordon Crawford. And older Poppies fans will remember Owen Wright, a pacy winger at Rockingham Road in the early 90's well he's on The Bees coaching staff to. The Poppies have former Harborough Town loanee Luca Miller in their squad, Luca made a big impression last season in Harborough's promotion winning side.

Those ex Poppies in the Harborough coaching staff and squad would love nothing more than to put a dent in the Poppies promotion push and they will be bang up for this one and like most sides have done against Kettering this season will raise their game. If football was a simple game then Kettering would win this game, they are the better side with better players but football isn't a simple game that's why we all love it. Like any Mitch Austin side Harborough will be big, strong and well organised and play with a lot of pride and passion. Just football ability alone won't win Kettering this game they are going to have to match Harborough for determination to, If they don't they will come unstuck and in Ben Stephens they have a player who can win any game, it won't be easy.

But The Poppies should be confident, yes the draw at Stratford was a disappointment but they have only lost one league game in the last fifteen and that was to a 94th minute penalty at Barwell. It is hoped midfield playmaker Andi Thanoj should be back for this game. He's the one player that really makes the Poppies tick and has that bit of quality to unlock a tight defence. And as we all know an attack with Nile Ranger, Jonny Edwards, Callum Powell, Wes York and Ty Wilson is one that is guarantied goals. Kai Fifield to looking more like the Kai Fifield before he got his injury earlier in the season.

The defence will need to be switched on, they will be bombarded with long balls, long free-kicks and throws into the box and must deal with that. The defence has maybe been a bit shaky but they have (for me) the best central defender in the division in Connor Johnson and the second best defensive record in the division so they must have something about them.

Kettering have 4 points already on the board from the first two games of the festive season, If they can add 4/6 to that from the next two games (Harborough and Halesowen) then a return of 8/10 points from those games will be a good return going into second half of the season. The only downside is there will only be 400 Poppies fans there to back the lads, there was around 500 at Stratford on Saturday from Kettering and I am sure if things allowed it to happen there would be close to 1000 from Kettering at Harborough. Many regulars (myself included) are sitting this game out but I'm sure the 400 that are there will add to the atmosphere.

Former Poppies skipper Connor Kennedy will be in the Harborough squad

Harborough Town's last 5 league results

Leiston (H) - W.4-0

Barwell (A) - D.2-2

Alvechurch (H) - L.0-1

Biggleswade Town (A) - W.3-2

St Ives Town (A) - L.1-4

Top league goal scorer - Ben Stephens 10

Last Time we met.....

Monday August 26th 2024 - Latimer Park

Kettering Town 1 (Johnson 39)

Harborough Town 1 (Daire 90)

Att: 1596

*One to Watch*

Another ex Poppy Ben Stephens is the real big threat in the Harborough team. A very good performer at this level and above over the past few seasons Stephens already has 14 goals this season and will want to add to that tally. Had two separate spells at Latimer Park under Marcus Law and then Paul Cox and many Poppies fans think he was never really given a far chance by either manager