Kettering Nomads FC

27th February 2010

Bright, Jackson 

Nomads made it three league games without a win as, not for the first time, they came up against a talented and well organised Earls Barton side. However the overall performance was a lot better than in previous weeks, and they once again showed good spirit to come from behind in a game that swung first one way and then the other. 

For once, Kettering based sign-making mogul/chairman/manager Nathan Eady had some pre-match selection headaches. His usually bulging first team squad was as threadbare as a pair of Paul Smith's boxer shorts, due to a mixture of injuries and unavailability. With Clark joining Massie and Evans in the Nomads wing of KGH, and Loake, Norton and Symington all away, Ingham was switched to left back, Joy returned at right back and Jackson came back in on the left side after his South African holiday. Up front saw a brand new partnership of D Morris and Thurlow, as Eady looked to use their pace and movement to unsettle the tall Earls Barton defenders.

Starting line up:  Panter, Ingham, Joy, Smith, Ferguson, Piazza, Bright, Jackson, S Morris, Thurlow, D Morris. Subs: Newcombe, Evans.

Nomads kicked off the match with the Earls Barton pitch's slope in their favour, and immediately had the home side on the back foot with some good slick passing moves. Despite having an extra man in the middle of midfield, Earls Barton could not maintain posession for any length of time and their tall central defenders were struggling to come to terms with the tiny terrors of Thurlow and D Morris.

It was crucial that Nomads turned this early dominancy into a goal, and after ten minutes, this is exactly what they did. A scuffed cross from Joy looked to be going harmlessly out for a goal kick, but with a show of real ingenuity, D Morris back heeled the ball off the touchline into the six yard box, and Bright was first to react to prod the ball into the bottom corner .

Earls Barton tried to lift their game, and were unlucky to see a great strike from the edge of the box come back off the post, whilst Nomads continued to carve out some excellent opportunities, with Thurlow and D Morris in particular the main culprits in failing to extend the away side's lead. As is often the case, these missed chances came back to haunt Nomads, as with ten minutes of the half remaining, Earls Barton equalised when their centre half powered home a header from close range from a perfectly delivered corner.

In a repeat of their last game, Eady was forced to make a change at the half time interval due to an injury. This time it was goal scorer Bright who limped out of the action with an ankle problem. Eady decided to go like for like with Earls Barton and switched to a 3-5-2 formation, moving S Morris into the centre and Ingham onto the right. The final piece of the puzzle saw loud fanfares and a ceremonial guard of honour lining up outside the changing rooms, as fresh-faced youngster Newcombe finally got his dream wish of actually getting onto the pitch this season, with the Eddie Izzard lookalike making up the extra man in the centre of the park.

The second half started with both sides desperate to get their noses in front, and as the opening minutes went by, the game began to become more and more stretched. The deadlock was suddenly broken by the home side, when one of their midfielders latched onto a half clearance to put himself through on goal. As Panter came out to spread himself at his feet, the Earls Barton player cleverly lifted the ball over the keeper and into the unguarded net.

Nomads could now see the points slipping away from them and rallied once more as the clock ticked down. Continuing to play some neat passing football, yet always at the risk of conceding a third on the break, Nomads went close through D Morris, Thurlow and Ingham, but each time luck was not with the Kettering side. At the other end, Ferguson put his body on the line (literally) to clear the ball away after it had stopped in a goalmouth puddle to give the Earls Barton striker a chance to finish the game off.

Then with just five minutes left, Smith found some space inside the box as he pushed forward. His initial shot was blocked but he managed to hit the rebound on target, only to see the Earls Barton keeper push the shot onto the bar. However, as the ball bounced away, Jackson arrived in perfect fashion to smash a half volley high into the net and bring Nomads level.

Nomads sensed that they could actually win the game now, and with their very next attack probably should of done, as S Morris put in the cross of the day from the left, only for front man Thurlow to head agonisingly wide with the goal at his mercy. There was still time for last gasp drama at the other end, when the referee failed to see a blatant foul on Smith which left the Earls Barton striker with just Panter to beat, but the bald shot stopper produced a great one handed save to tip the ball to safety.

At the final whistle, a draw was probably the right result, although both sides will feel that they could have nicked it at the death. Nomads next game is in two weeks time, away to Finedon Volta.