Curzon Ashton host Kettering Town at Tameside as both teams clash after a successful Gameweek 3. Kettering comfortably beat AFC Telford United 2-0 while Curzon played a tense fixture against Kidderminster Harriers.
Adam Lakeland's Curzon picked up their first 3 points of the season away at an intimidating Aggborough Stadium. Goals from William Hayhurst and Devon Matthews gave them a 2-0 lead before missing out on a clean sheet courtesy of Ethan Freemantle in the 75th minute. However, before travelling to Aggborough, Curzon had a rocky start. They faced two newly promoted teams that they expected to beat, having finished 14th in the league last year. Buxton and Banbury had different ideas though. Lakeland looked like a point was the result against Banbury but a 90th minute penalty broke them on the opening day of the season. The Nash then travelled to The Silverlands looking to improve but they once again lost out to a penalty in the 70th minute. This time they failed to beat Theo Richardson in goal. When travelling to an intimidating Aggborough Stadium to face Kiddy, a surprise result arose. Goals from Curzon's William Hayhurst and Devon Matthews gave Lakeland an impressive lead. The Nash were clearly not phased by the well-known Aggborough atmosphere as they picked up their first win. A lot of transfers were completed from leagues below, above and a few sideways moves. This includes players such as Connor Dimaio from Boston United and Josh Hancock from Altrincham.
Lee Glover also had a weekend to be proud of after Kettering gradually improved from the loss at AFC Fylde. After drawing to Bradford (Park Avenue), The Poppies went back to Latimer Park searching for their first win. A well-worked goal from Sam Bennett just before half-time put Kettering in front. The man on form, Andrew Oluwabori finished calmly in the 63rd minute to end dreams of an AFC Telford comeback. Shortly after, the game was taken over by a heavy flash of rain which stopped any real football from happening. Nonetheless, Lee Glover was very pleased with his team's performance. Kettering ended the Gameweek in 11th position with Curzon Ashton in 19th position.
Team News
Curzon Ashton
Adam Lakeland has managed to avoid any injuries or red cards in the first 3 Gameweeks so he will put out his strongest team. Many of his new signings will be in action. Two of Curzon's new signings Devon Matthews and Will Hayhurst scored against Kidderminster Harriers which proves that Lakeland's summer business was successful as they try to improve on a mid-table finish in the 2021/22 season.
Kettering Town
Glover has also avoided injuries and red cards so is free to play his best XI. Injuries were expected after the pitch became waterlogged at the end of the AFC Telford United game but luckily no damage was dealt. Kettering's new look team are off to a decent start getting 4 points from 3 games. On loan George Cooper is still yet to feature after picking up an injury while playing for Mansfield during pre-season training.
Likely Lineups
Renshaw, Richards, Poscha, Matthews, Hampson, Mahon, Walker, Hall, Hancock, Hayhurst, Peers.
Gregory, Sault, Reilly, White, Toseland, Gascoinge, Oluwabori, Stohrer, Bennett, Ward, Graham.
Key Players
Tom Peers
Centre-forward Peers has good experience having played in the National League and National League. With 18 goals in 98 appearances, Tom joined Curzon Ashton on a permanent deal in February 2021 from National League outfit Altrincham. At 5 foot 10, he is a very agile and useful forward having scored in the defeat to Banbury United in Gameweek 1.
In the 2021/22 season, Tom scored 8 goals in 24 games after joining Curzon in February. Before that, he also played 13 and scored two in the National League
(Getty Images)
Sam Bennett
A promising 20-year-old striker who was snapped up by Lee Glover from lower league side Wisbech Town after winning their player of the year award.
Sam started his career at Cambridge under 18's playing in the FA Youth Cup once. He has already impressed Kettering fans by scoring a very well-taken goal against AFC Telford United at the weekend. He was also awarded man of the match in this fixture.
Match Details
Where is the game being played?
Curzon host their second game of the season as Kettering travel to Tameside. A ground which can hold 4000 however attendances are significantly below that.
What time is kick-off?
The kick-off is at 15:00 along with all other matches in the Vanarama National League North in Gameweek 3.
How can I watch it?
There will be no official live stream however Kettering Town FC on YouTube will provide live commentary.