Kettering Nomads FC

24th October 2009

Norton, Jackson

Nomads bounced back from their disappointing League Cup exit last week, by producing the biggest upset of the round as they dumped the holders Peterborough Northern Star out of the Junior Cup.

After plotting away in the various wings of Eady Towers for most of the week, self made millionaire manager Nathan Eady was once more forced into making changes to his starting line up. With injuries side-lining Smith, Robinson, Morris, Symington and R Thurlow, the large Nomads squad was being fully utilised. However Norton and captain Massie both returned, with Evans reverting to his usual left back position and ginger beanpole Jackson moving up to the left hand side of midfield.

Starting Line Up - Panter, Ingham, Massie, Joy, Evans, Clark, Piazza, Bright, Jackson, C Thurlow, Norton. Subs - Newcombe, Cross, Marks.

With their UCL opponents topping the Division 1 table and also being the current holders of the cup, Nomads were obviously huge underdogs to get any sort of result. However, with an unbeaten home record to defend, it was vital that they did not show too much respect to PNS and made sure that they started the game in the right frame of mind. This is exactly what happened and the opening passages of play were fairly even as both sides passed the ball well on the slick surface.

If the home side were to cause a shock, they needed to score first. After a couple of early half chances, a Clark corner swung in from the left was expertly flicked high into the roof of the net by Norton to send the Nomads supporters into wild celebrations on the touchline. It was no surprise to anyone that this unexpected turn of events would bring a response from Northern Star, who began to press confidently for an equaliser. Panter was forced into a fine save, diving to his right to keep out a shot which came through a crowd of players and then PNS missed two good chances to draw level from set pieces as the Nomads defence started to get the jitters. As the half drew to a close, a high ball to the far post was fumbled by Panter, under pressure from the away side's striker, but fortunately for Friedel it bounced off the post and into his grateful arms at the second attempt. 

With Eady and Newcombe calling for even more blood, sweat and tears from their players, the second half began with Nomads kicking against a strong wind and having changed to a 4-3-3 formation in an attempt to try and press home their slender advantage.

However, this seemed to cause some confusion in the home side's ranks, as the opening 15 minutes of the half saw PNS dominate the play. Just as it seemed that Nomads had managed to ride out the storm, PNS hauled themselves back into the match, as a hopeful cross from the right was mis-judged by Panter and Ingham, allowing the Northern Star midfielder to score from close range at the far post.

This could have been the signal for PNS to now push on and win the tie, but to their credit, Nomads picked themselves up and took the game to their opponents. A series of corners saw Jackson cause problems for the Peterborough defenders, but the ball would just not drop for the home side. Then with 20 minutes to go, Nomads pressure finally told as they scored what was to turn out to be the winning goal. Clark did magnificently to find Briggy with a great cross into the box from the left, and as the ball dropped down off Reardon's shoulder, Jackson smashed the ball home on the half volley.

With time running out, PNS tried to get back into the game for the second time, but despite having a lot of possession, Panter was only called into action once, to beat away a header from the PNS substitute striker.

As the final whistle blew, the celebrations started as Nomads had produced a great team performance to take their place in the last 16 of the competition.

Next week sees a return to League action, with a trip to Stanion who have come down from the Premier Division this year.