We arrived to find the pitch was fiery following on from this dry spell but to his credit the groundsman had left a decent covering of grass leaving the pich playable with only the occasional strange bounce.
Moulton started brightly with plenty of early pressure. After 6 minutes a sharp through ball found the Kettering centre forward outstripping Moulton defence. Harriet came off her line and as the forward entered the box she collided with the Moulton keeper who was attempting to play the ball. A definite penalty but under double jeopardy Harriet should have been booked but the referee mistakedly sent her off with the flourish of a red card. Reedy came on in goal and we had to sacrifice Leah from midfield. Kettering player rolled the ball into the corner of the goal from the penalty for 1-0 Kettering.
After 17 minutes Callie moved forward from her full back position and from all of 38 yards out launched a rocket that saw the keeper hardly move for 1-1. Ten player Moulton were now well on top with the wind at their backs and after 21 minutes thought they had gone ahead. An inswinging Cat corner from the left found Sophie at the far post and she scored with her header only for the ref to disallow it for an alleged push. Only a minute or two later the ball was on the left hand side of the pitch when Sophie made a run, cut in and beat the keeper at the near post with a firm low shot, 2-1 Moulton. Pressure continued and on the half hour Stephanie held off the challenges of 3 defenders and eventually hit a firm shot that saw the Kettering keeper sprawl along her line to push the ball out for a corner. Another good corner from Cat saw the ball palmed away from danger. Half time 2-1 to Moulton but would they rue the missed chances in the 2nd half when they would be against the wind and the slope, and playing with 10 players could take its toll.
After 60 minutes a Kettering break through the middle again saw their number 9 beat the keeper to the ball and slot it into the corner for 2-2. Moulton still tried to make chances and from a corner the keeper dived on the ball as Sophie T was about to pull the trigger. Scores remained level until the 78th minute when from a nothing situation the Kettering player hit a high lob towards Moulton's goal and although Moulton's keeper got her fingertips to the ball she couldn't keep it out. 3-2 Kettering. 10 player Moulton continued to try to push forward but conceded a free kick on 81 minutes some 30 yards out. A hard high shot found the top corner to make it 4-2 and game over for Moulton.They did try to pull one back but ran out of steam and Kettering saw the game out for a rare win for them this season.
Several Moulton players had good games but should probably have been a bit greedier in the attacking third rather than attempting passes to colleagues which got intercepted. Just an observation. Sophie T, Cat and Stephanie worked tirelessly, Chelsee fought hard in the middle of the park, Sophie G , Antonella and Georgie tried hard to win their battles. Millie again showed her pace and keenness. At the back Hayley was a rock and ably supported by Georgie , Jade and Callie. Kitty came on and threatened down the left where she found space and Shannon in midfield tried hard and received a literal 'kick up the pants' on a couple of occasions. Reedy in goal did well but two high hard shots caught her out and these sort of shots have been our undoing on several occasions this season.
On to Sunday Ladies and a home match against Bugbrooke who are beatable.