Home misery is back as Poppies pay price
Kettering Town's return to form at home lasted all of three days.
Danny Crow's close-range strike with 14 minutes to go sealed a precious three points for Cambridge United and put a dent in the Poppies' hopes of finishing in the top five of the Blue Square Premier.
And the most disappointing fact about it is that Lee Harper's men only have themselves to blame.
Performance-wise, there wasn't a great deal wrong but when it came to finishing off some flowing moves, the Poppies were sorely lacking.
It's not the first time it's happened and it probably won't be the last.
And it will more than likely be the reason why Kettering aren't in the top five at the end of April should they not make it.
Quite how the first half ended goalless remains a mystery.
Poor finishing and good goalkeeping were the main reasons as the Poppies started impressively.
They dominated a frantic opening 20 minutes and should have taken the lead when Andre Boucaud saw his shot cleared off the line by Josh Coulson.
Brown palmed away Kwesi Appiah's long-range blockbuster and Jordan Hadfield curled another effort just wide of the far post.
Despite looking poor at the back, Cambridge did pose a threat at the other end and Danny Crow should have done a lot better than send a shot wide when he beat the offside trap.
But the half belonged to Brown as he produced his best save of the lot seven minutes before half-time.
Hadfield had a clear sight of goal after good work from Appiah but his powerful strike was brilliantly tipped over the bar. A fine save but the midfielder should have done better.
Cambridge's grittiness at the back continued in the second half and it was Aiden Palmer's turn to come to their rescue as he headed Greg Taylor's header off the line just past the hour.
It was another chance the Poppies could and probably should have taken. And they paid the ultimate price.
Nathan Abbey produced a brilliant triple save to deny Ross McAuley and then Crow twice but the latter was celebrating just 30 seconds later when he slammed home from close range.
The Poppies gave it a go after that but Cambridge defended like warriors and held on to seal a crucial win in their battle to stay up.
It was a disappointing night after hopes had been raised at the weekend and the Poppies don't need to be reminded of why this one got away.
The good news is they are away at the weekend and there's no bigger or better place to put things right than at the Kassam Stadium.
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Weather for Kettering
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 5 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
