Report by Jools Thomas

FC’S fine unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of Kettering Town and whilst admittedly the side were soundly beaten there were lots of positives for boss Steve Batemen to mull over on the coach journey back to Buckinghamshire. The FC manager was brave enough to give starts to young defender Greg Copcutt and midfielders Ben Bateman and Robert Tomlin. This lowered the age of the FC starting XI to just nineteen with all three young men giving a very good account of themselves.

FC took to the field for their fourth game in eight days with a reshuffled defence which saw Lamar Simpson drop into defence and Kevin Mealor moving from the subs’ bench to partner club captain Ben Stevens. The first chance came for Kettering straight from the kick off, Ash Fuller being surprised to find the ball at his feet before lashing the ball over the bar. FC replied with Gareth Price feeding Bradley Wadkins whose powerful shot was turned over the goal for a corner. With ten minutes gone, full back Clifton James attempted a cheeky right foot shot from a narrow angle that FC keeper James Weatherill did well to push around the post as the match developed into an entertaining event.

Moments later Bradley Wadkins burst into the box before his powerful shot was saved by Alastair Worby in the home goal. Brad looked to pull the trigger to strike the rebound but as he did, a home defender brought the FC man down. The midfield man could and perhaps should have been awarded a penalty however the referee showed no interest and waved play on.

As the half progressed, the home team were beginning to stamp their authority on the game. Kettering’s Jonathon Thorpe and later Tom Hull both had reasonable efforts to open the scoring. In response Jamie Rudd played a decent right hand cross which the home keeper did well to grab from the onrushing Gareth Price.

Kettering took the lead five minutes before the break. Josh Moreman found space on the edge of the box to place a sweet strike past the despairing right hand of Weatherill and into the bottom corner. FC could have grabbed a goal back almost immediately. Again it was the busy pairing of Wadkins and Price with Brad feeding Gareth whose on-target shot was deflected over the bar.

Despite the stadium MC’s confusion over who Kettering were actually playing (calling us the nickname of another Aylesbury club) the half time score was a fair reflection on the game but just a few seconds into the second period the home team’s advantage was doubled. Kevin Mealor brought down the attacking player and Andy Gooding dispatched the spot kick into the bottom corner.

Kettering looked to attack at every opportunity as the battle weary Moles led by defensive kingpin Ben Stevens held out resolutely with the help of ample vocal encouragement from the travelling Aylesbury faithful. Tom Hull tried to increase their lead by releasing a dangerous shot which flashed past the post before the home team added that third goal. A quality cross from the left side gave home substitute Dubi Ogbanni the relatively simple job of guiding a header into the bottom corner of the net.

It wasn’t until the 89th minute that FC had their first effort of the half, Sam Bateman letting fly with a goal bound effort that Worby plucked from the air and to safety. As the teams left the field, FC knew they had been up against a team desperate for the points yet with the distinct feeling that had their first choice starting line-up been available, Kettering would have recieved a much more competitive game.

Line Up:
1. James Weatherill
2. Greg Copcutt
3. Lamar Simpson
4. Sam Bateman
5. Kevin Mealor
6. Ben Stevens Man of the Match '90
7. Ben Bateman
8. Robert Tomlin
9. Gareth Price Sub Off '78
10. Bradley Wadkins
11. Jamie Rudd

Used Sub:
12. Fraser McLachlan Sub On '78

Unused Subs:
14. Brian Haule
15. Adam Logie
16. Ollie Hogg