Match Preview

Match Preview – Kettering Town (H)

After 11 days without a match the Blues are back in league action this Saturday with the visit of Kettering Town to Grange Park.

United’s last match was on Tuesday 12th September when Bromsgrove Sporting were the visitors on that occasion to the home of the Blues.

Hopeful of making it back-to-back league victories, Brad Munn and Lewis McGugan’s side started brightly and looked positive in possession but seemingly just could not find the back of the net throughout the match.

It was in fact Bromsgrove that walked away as victors with Conor Tee’s late goal in the first half turning out to be the decider in a 1-0 win for the visitors.

The Opposition –

Kettering, on the other hand, were victorious in their last outing as they faced Northern Premier League Midlands Division side Sporting Khalsa at Latimer Park in the Emirates FA Cup.

The Poppies secured themselves a spot in the Third Qualifying Round of the competition after a 1-0 victory thanks to an early goal from Harry Reilly.

Not only did that goal earn Kettering a Third Round Qualifying tie against Hitchin Town, it also meant that they had reclaimed their position as the leading goal scorers in the history of the FA Cup with 911 all-time goals, beating second placed Tottenham Hotspur by one goal.

Previous Meeting’s –

Due to the location of both teams and the 60+ mile difference which, in history, has meant that the Blues have featured in Northern and Midlands based leagues, whereas the Poppies have featured in Southern based leagues, the two sides have never faced each other in a league capacity.

The Northamptonshire based side have also never faced United in a cup competition either, so this will be the first ever meeting between the two sides in the combined history of both clubs.

Thus, I am sure the Poppies will be eager to take all three points in their first visit to Grange Park, where the Blues will also be looking to pick up the second victory of the 2023/24 season.

Manager’s Quotes –

Reflecting on the Blues previous performance against Bromsgrove which was 11 days ago, joint boss Brad Munn said: “I will be honest, it was probably the best thing that could have happened for us, as we are in that position where recruitment is still ongoing – we have worked on things before, but it gave us a week and a half to work on more things.

“I spoke to the lads on Tuesday and said to them that they needed to leave that night with that bit on the shoulder in that we had given them that game, rather than that we had lost that game of football.

“In terms of that winning mentality, it should not have disappeared over night – they controlled a majority of the game [against Bromsgrove], so you take the positives of that into what was a week and a half of us being able to really work with the squad and get what we really want out of them.”

Highlighting the missing attacking threat last week, and looking ahead to Kettering, Munn added: “We will have Zayn [Hakeem] back in the squad off international duty, so that is another big plus to your forward line, and the way we have started to play in the last couple of games; I think that with adding Zayn back up front we will see a completely different player to what we have seen.

“That is not adding any pressure onto Zayn, but those team performances are exactly what he has needed – so, the good thing is, we have started to see good styles and a good way of being able to hold ourselves at step three whilst he has been away.

“Ultimately, if we get him back in the group and maybe a few other faces to help bolster everything, then we should be extremely positive moving forward.

“We will attack Kettering [Town] exactly how we attacked the game on Tuesday against Bromsgrove, just with a bit more quality in that top end of the pitch which can hopefully help us secure all three points.”

Match Details –

Long Eaton United vs Kettering Town
Southern Football League Premier Central
Saturday 23rd September – Kick-Off 3:00pm

Grange Park (Long Eaton United FC)
Station Road
Long Eaton
Derbyshire
NG10 2EF

Ticket Information –

£11 Adults
£9 Concessions
£4 U16s
U16 club members gain FREE entry with membership cards (limited to one member per paying adult)

£2.50 Matchday Programme

The match kicks off at 3:00pm and we advise all supporters to arrive early to avoid any queues or delays.

Card payments are preferred and accepted at the bar, at the kitchen and for entry into Grange Park – although, cash payments are still accepted!

Car parking is available at the ground and is free, but is of course subject to availability, although there is ample parking available in the surrounding area.

Also, you can see the team line-ups outside the hospitality room or on our official Twitter, where there will also be live updates from the match.