Gavin leaves it late for share of points
Corby Town's away-day Midas touch struck again as Gavin Strachan snatched a precious point in this Blue Square North clash.
The former Scottish under-21 man volleyed home the equaliser with three minutes left as a bold gamble by manager Graham Drury paid off.
With both sides next to each in the table before kick-off – and both with clear play-off ambitions – this was a six-pointer that neither could really afford to lose.
That, coupled with an indifferent display by the referee Mr Wootton, ensured the atmosphere simmered on the edge of boiling throughout.
As at Rockingham Triangle at the weekend, there was a minute's applause beforehand for the late Keith Alexander who managed the Vics in 2000-01.
The former Steelman not only kept them up after they were five points adrift when he took over but also reached the second round of the FA Cup.
Pleasantries over, the game began in fiery manner with a foul by Jamie McGhee – finally making a first league start – that led to a melee and bookings for McGhee, Leon Mettam and Vics' Nat Kerr.
Having got that out of their systems, Corby's defence then went to sleep on nine minutes and allowed Simon Grand's long ball to find its way through to Wayne Riley who duly volleyed the hosts in front.
With their pacy three-man attack looking lively, the Steelmen at times looked rattled and Mark Osborn twice did well to keep the score at 1-0, first clearing well after a wayward pass nearly put Mark Danks in and then tipping over a Riley shot.
The Steelmen struggled to offer much in the first half, although Jack Defty was narrowly wide with a header on 32 minutes.
And they had decent claims for a penalty on the stroke of half-time when McGhee's cross hit Riley on the arm.
Despite improving as the half went on, Corby still reached the interval a goal down and in need of a Plan B.
And, after Mr Wootton opened things with another flurry of cards, taking the bookings tally to seven before the hour, we found out that the plan was for Mettam to equalise on the hour with the Steelmen's first shot on target.
However, Northwich also had a Plan B which was to regain the lead in simple fashion as Michael Connor thumped home a header from a corner with 14 minutes left.
That left the Steelmen to gamble on Plan C as boss Drury threw on fitness doubts Strachan and Steve Diggin to rescue a point.
And Strachan should have scored when he blazed over from close in on 84 minutes.
But he more than made up for that moments later with the equaliser.
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Weather for Kettering
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
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Temperature: 2 C to 7 C
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