Aldershot Town v Kettering Town Match Preview – Saturday 20th October 2018
Having picked up seven points from the last nine in National League action, Aldershot Town’s attention turns to the FA Cup on Saturday, when they will play host to Kettering Town at the EBB Stadium in the 4th Qualifying Round. The Poppies, who the Shots have never met before, currently sit top of the Southern League Premier Division Central. BBC Surrey’s Rob Worrall previews the game:
Shots Squad:
Manager Gary Waddock named an unchanged starting eleven and substitutes bench for the 2-1 victory at Eastleigh and following back-to-back wins, it’s unlikely that there will be many changes for the Kettering game. Injured trio; Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong, skipper Karleigh Osborne and James Rowe all remain doubtful. Shamir Fenelon is also a doubt after picking up an injury late on against Eastleigh last week.
Opposition:
Name: Kettering Town FC
Founded: 1872 (as Kettering Football Club)
Nickname: The Poppies
Manager: Marcus Law
Stadium: Latimer Park
2018/19 Current position: 1st (Southern League Premier Division Central)
Brief History:
In their first fifty years of existence, Kettering played in a variety of different leagues, including; Midland League, Southern League, Northamptonshire League and Central Alliance. In 1924, they became a limited company and changed their name to Kettering Town FC. After winning the Southern League title in 1956-57, they applied (for the fourth time) to the Football League but failed to receive a single vote – something that would occur twice more. In 1972-73, they received twelve votes, but lost out to Darlington and further unsuccessful applications followed. In 1979, they were founder members of the Alliance Premier League – the top division of non-league football. They finished as runners-up on no less than four occasions in the 80’s and 90’s and were also runners-up in the FA Trophy, losing to Kingstonian in one of the final matches played at the ‘old’ Wembley. In the early 2000’s, the Poppies bounced up and down between the Conference and Conference North. They have twice reached the fourth round (proper) of the FA Cup, most recently ten years ago, when they eventually went out to Premier League Fulham (4-2). After losing their Rockingham Road ground in 2011, the club went into administration and ultimately suffered a two-league demotion. Last season they finished fourth and made the end of season play-offs, only to lose out to Slough Town.
The Gaffer:
Marcus Law, a goalkeeper in his playing days, played just twice in the football league – for Bristol Rovers. In management since 1999, he is now in his second spell in charge of the Poppies, having re-joined them in 2015, following a successful spell at Barwell, masterminding a 66-match unbeaten run during his tenure there.
Referee:
Saturday’s referee is Savvas Yianni who has taken the middle in just one game at National League level so far this season. Last term, he took charge of 21 National League matches, showing 57 yellow cards and 2 red cards. He did not referee The Shots.
Commentary:
There will be live BBC Surrey Sport coverage of the game on Saturday afternoon with Rob Worrall and a special guest. Tune in to the BBC Sport website (or the BBC Sport App) from 2:50pm for full match commentary.
