Merthyr Imp
Vital Champions League
23rd April 1988 Kettering Town 2 Lincoln City 0 (GM Vauxhall Conference)
It was crunch time of the season for City in their bid for an immediate return to the Football League after being the first club to suffer automatic relegation from it.
After chasing Barnet for the championship and only promotion place for most of the season they were one point behind The Bees with four games to play and a game in hand.
Barnet and the Imps were in stuttering form, both having lost their previous games, while Kettering, with an unbeaten run of 11 games had emerged to make a late run for promotion. The game attracted an all-ticket sell-out crowd of 4,135 including over 1,100 from Lincoln and needless to say, it was Kettering’s highest of the season.
This was my first ever visit to Kettering and is likely to be the last, certainly to their Rockingham Road ground which was demolished last year after standing empty for six years. As I remember, it was one of the better ones in the Conference that season, or at least had one of the better main stands.
Around ten or so years previously Kettering had been one of the leading non-league clubs in the country, coming close on more than one occasion to being elected to the league. Managed by Ron Atkinson from 1971 to 1974 in his first managerial appointment, they were original members of what became the Conference. Finishing third in 1987/88 they were runners-up the following season but after that there followed a gradual decline in fortunes with the club going into administration in the 2011/12 season and they are now competing in the Southern League Premier Division. Having lost the use of Rockingham Road at the time of their financial difficulties Kettering currently play at the nearby town of Burton Latimer (best-known for its Weetabix factory), at the ground of United Counties League side Burton Park Wanderers.
The teams were:
City:
1. Richard Wilson
2. Clive Evans
3. Shane Nicholson
4. Andy Moore
5. Trevor Matthewson
6. Chris Scott
7. Paul Casey
8. David Clarke
9. Phil Brown
10. Paul Smith
11. John McGinley
12. Mark Sertori (for Moore)
14. Graham Bressington (for Scott)
Kettering:
1. Paul Reece
2. Frank Murphy
3. Arthur Mann
4. Andy Tillson
5. Russell Lewis
6. Steve Daley
7. Dougie Keast
8. Paul Richardson
9. Ian Crawley
10. Mark Smith
11. David Heywood
12. Neil Edwards
13. Alan Ricketts
Manager of Kettering was Alan Buckley in his second season with the club. He left them the following June to take over at Grimsby Town.
The Poppies could boast a million-pound man in midfield in the shape of Steve Daley, who had once been transferred from Wolves to Manchester City for an English record fee of over £1,400,000. Now aged 34, he added plenty of experience along with the 40-year-old ex-Notts County player Arthur Mann who had joined Kettering after two years as Boston United player-manager.
Leading scorer was Mark Smith with 19 goals, while Frank Murphy was on 18 although seemingly playing in defence in this match.
City had a number of injury problems, with defenders Gordon Simmonite and Steve Buckley missing and goalkeeper Nigel Batch out with a knee injury. Midfielder Graham Bressington was only fit enough for the bench, while 17-year-old Shane Nicholson had only just returned following a back injury. Leading scorer John McGinley had been rated doubtful due to hamstring trouble but played. Also, the influential Bob Cumming was missing through suspension, his place in midfield being taken by David Clarke with Nicholson in at left back.
The other changes saw Bob Wilson’s nephew Richard make his last City appearance, deputising for Batch in goal, and Chris Scott, signed for £6,000 in December make his first start for the club in place of Buckley. Another player making his last appearance for the club in this game was Andy Moore who had been a regular in defence in the first half of the season after joining from Grimsby for £34,000 but who had recently been filling in with a few games in midfield in the absence of Bressington.
I only have a vague recollection of the match myself, but Echo reporter Julie Sherborn commented on a lack of determination by the Imps players on a dry, dusty pitch with Scott and Nicholson not looking match fit.
Kettering took the lead after just two minutes when a long free-kick from defender Andy Tillson seemed to go into the net after a touch by McGinley but the goal was claimed by the Kettering player.
Poppies striker Mark Smith could have put his side further ahead by the interval, but put the ball wide following another free kick then finished a fine move by heading a cross from Richardson wide of the goal.
Although City had plenty of possession they were unable to find a way through the home side’s defence, although they seemed to be unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after a free kick from Clarke appeared to be handled.
But the City back line was caught napping in the 53rd minute when Keast cut in from the right before crossing to Richardson who finished clinically.
Evans, Clarke and Bressington all put shots over the bar and Matthewson produced a fine reflex save from Reece but the late introductions of Mark Sertori and Bressington plus 10 minutes of injury time produced nothing.
I made Trevor Matthewson man of the match, with the rest fairly average except for below-par performances from Chris Scott and David Clarke.
The win put Kettering level on points with City and two behind Barnet who had drawn 1-1 at Kidderminster but they went on to lose their three remaining games to stay in third place.
This was City’s third away defeat in a row and the seventh in succession without a win away from Sincil Bank
I do remember afterwards when we heard the Barnet result a consolation was that they hadn’t won as this left City two points behind them with a game in hand meaning that promotion was still in our own hands with three games to play, all at home.
But there were a few twists and turns to come in that final week or so of the season and the rest is history.
It was crunch time of the season for City in their bid for an immediate return to the Football League after being the first club to suffer automatic relegation from it.
After chasing Barnet for the championship and only promotion place for most of the season they were one point behind The Bees with four games to play and a game in hand.
Barnet and the Imps were in stuttering form, both having lost their previous games, while Kettering, with an unbeaten run of 11 games had emerged to make a late run for promotion. The game attracted an all-ticket sell-out crowd of 4,135 including over 1,100 from Lincoln and needless to say, it was Kettering’s highest of the season.
This was my first ever visit to Kettering and is likely to be the last, certainly to their Rockingham Road ground which was demolished last year after standing empty for six years. As I remember, it was one of the better ones in the Conference that season, or at least had one of the better main stands.
Around ten or so years previously Kettering had been one of the leading non-league clubs in the country, coming close on more than one occasion to being elected to the league. Managed by Ron Atkinson from 1971 to 1974 in his first managerial appointment, they were original members of what became the Conference. Finishing third in 1987/88 they were runners-up the following season but after that there followed a gradual decline in fortunes with the club going into administration in the 2011/12 season and they are now competing in the Southern League Premier Division. Having lost the use of Rockingham Road at the time of their financial difficulties Kettering currently play at the nearby town of Burton Latimer (best-known for its Weetabix factory), at the ground of United Counties League side Burton Park Wanderers.
The teams were:
City:
1. Richard Wilson
2. Clive Evans
3. Shane Nicholson
4. Andy Moore
5. Trevor Matthewson
6. Chris Scott
7. Paul Casey
8. David Clarke
9. Phil Brown
10. Paul Smith
11. John McGinley
12. Mark Sertori (for Moore)
14. Graham Bressington (for Scott)
Kettering:
1. Paul Reece
2. Frank Murphy
3. Arthur Mann
4. Andy Tillson
5. Russell Lewis
6. Steve Daley
7. Dougie Keast
8. Paul Richardson
9. Ian Crawley
10. Mark Smith
11. David Heywood
12. Neil Edwards
13. Alan Ricketts
Manager of Kettering was Alan Buckley in his second season with the club. He left them the following June to take over at Grimsby Town.
The Poppies could boast a million-pound man in midfield in the shape of Steve Daley, who had once been transferred from Wolves to Manchester City for an English record fee of over £1,400,000. Now aged 34, he added plenty of experience along with the 40-year-old ex-Notts County player Arthur Mann who had joined Kettering after two years as Boston United player-manager.
Leading scorer was Mark Smith with 19 goals, while Frank Murphy was on 18 although seemingly playing in defence in this match.
City had a number of injury problems, with defenders Gordon Simmonite and Steve Buckley missing and goalkeeper Nigel Batch out with a knee injury. Midfielder Graham Bressington was only fit enough for the bench, while 17-year-old Shane Nicholson had only just returned following a back injury. Leading scorer John McGinley had been rated doubtful due to hamstring trouble but played. Also, the influential Bob Cumming was missing through suspension, his place in midfield being taken by David Clarke with Nicholson in at left back.
The other changes saw Bob Wilson’s nephew Richard make his last City appearance, deputising for Batch in goal, and Chris Scott, signed for £6,000 in December make his first start for the club in place of Buckley. Another player making his last appearance for the club in this game was Andy Moore who had been a regular in defence in the first half of the season after joining from Grimsby for £34,000 but who had recently been filling in with a few games in midfield in the absence of Bressington.
I only have a vague recollection of the match myself, but Echo reporter Julie Sherborn commented on a lack of determination by the Imps players on a dry, dusty pitch with Scott and Nicholson not looking match fit.
Kettering took the lead after just two minutes when a long free-kick from defender Andy Tillson seemed to go into the net after a touch by McGinley but the goal was claimed by the Kettering player.
Poppies striker Mark Smith could have put his side further ahead by the interval, but put the ball wide following another free kick then finished a fine move by heading a cross from Richardson wide of the goal.
Although City had plenty of possession they were unable to find a way through the home side’s defence, although they seemed to be unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after a free kick from Clarke appeared to be handled.
But the City back line was caught napping in the 53rd minute when Keast cut in from the right before crossing to Richardson who finished clinically.
Evans, Clarke and Bressington all put shots over the bar and Matthewson produced a fine reflex save from Reece but the late introductions of Mark Sertori and Bressington plus 10 minutes of injury time produced nothing.
I made Trevor Matthewson man of the match, with the rest fairly average except for below-par performances from Chris Scott and David Clarke.
The win put Kettering level on points with City and two behind Barnet who had drawn 1-1 at Kidderminster but they went on to lose their three remaining games to stay in third place.
This was City’s third away defeat in a row and the seventh in succession without a win away from Sincil Bank
I do remember afterwards when we heard the Barnet result a consolation was that they hadn’t won as this left City two points behind them with a game in hand meaning that promotion was still in our own hands with three games to play, all at home.
But there were a few twists and turns to come in that final week or so of the season and the rest is history.
