What a fantastic day we had at Kettering Town Football Club on Saturday, not only to receive a warm welcome and great hospitality along with watching a great game of Non-League football but to also be part of the wonderful charity Team Mikayla who were in attendance for the day raising vital funds for the award winning charity who have a long running affinity to the football club.
On arrival at Latimer Road, the new home of The Poppies since 2013 after having to leave their spiritual home of Rockingham Road in 2011 and a couple of ground shares later you are instantly struck by some of the great work the club have put into their new abode which looks very professional after a face-lift to the entrance and external areas.
After receiving a lovely welcome from the club we met up with Makayla, the inspiration behind the charity 'Team Makayla' and asked her to tell us about what the days event had instore.
It was time to check out the new fan zone situated right outside the ground where the marquee area was buzzing with the pre-match and after-match entertainment already in full swing with the excellent 25 piece ukulele band 'The Fabulous Ukie Toons' knocking out the tunes, their was also a very tasty pizza parlour and a well stocked club shop in the well thought out fan hub.
We've got to say the facilities at the ground were really impressive including the sizable club house with a large selection of draught beers, drinks and plenty of food options which was replicated inside the ground with the Lemon Tree Cafe selling burgers, hotdogs, and all the usual stuff, next to this was the brand new Tinhat bar which is sponsored by the local Carlsberg brewery and another nice touch was the kids sweet shop which was buzzing with the many youngsters in attendance on the day.
We was kindly invited to have a pre-match meal in the club's 1872 bar/restaurant by the club's new co-owners George Akhtar and Fabien Forde who have both had careers playing football with Fabien now being the director of football at the club, and we've got to say you couldn't meet to nicer fellas who live a breathe the beautiful game.
We sat down with Darren Ashley the best non-league vlogger out their who we have to thank for getting us the invite to the club and had a fantastic 3 course meal served by the very friendly staff, we also had the privilege of sitting next to the Mayor of Kettering and the room was packed with the many valued sponsors of the club and some Kettering supporters who had taken up the really affordable pre match packages which are so important to fund the club's great work going forward to improve the overall facilities and match day experience for all fans.
George made a speech which was followed by one of the guys from the Poppies supporters trust, who are the heart beat of the club and spoke about fund raising plans to help build a new stand and keep the club moving in the right direction, this was followed by the match mascots which consisted of many youngsters from the Kettering Town youth academy who gave a rendition of one of the clubs songs! and it really showed the community spirit and togetherness of the club from top to bottom.
Kick off was fast approaching so we made our way down to pitch side to soak up the atmosphere, and as it turned out to soak up a massive downpour amid the rumbles of thunder and lightning!
The atmosphere was building up with a good attendance of 930 and there was the obligatory quick change of ends by the fans to be behind the end their team was attacking!
Fair play to 20 odd Lowestoft Town fans who made the 260 mile round trip which is something they have to do nearly every other week!
The game itself was mostly one way traffic but The Poppies couldn't find that killer pass or finish to reward their early pressure but the opening goal finally came just before half time with a shot that looked goal bound ricocheting off a Lowestoft defender and flew into the back of the net!
Into the second half and Kettering were now clinical and playing some great football on the deck but also mixing it up with direct balls up to former Premier League striker Nile Ranger who was as good with his feet as he was with his head, holding it up and laying it off, and he scored an excellent 3rd goal using his quick feet which followed the second goal by local lad Luca Miller, the best goal of the day was from the lively winger Daniel Jarvis with a wonderful curling effort to make it 4-0.
Lowestoft got a consolation goal in the 82nd minute and the game finished 4-1 to the Poppies which sees them now sit in 4th place in the Southern Premier League Central Division at Step 3.
We caught up with the co-owners after the full-time whistle who explained the massive turnaround in the playing staff in the close season and their views on where the club is going and the brilliant charity, Team Makayla.
We have to say, we had a fantastic day at Kettering Town Football Club, a club that represents everything we love about non-league football, everyone we spoke to, from the turnstile operator, who took time to explain the history of the club, the media team who were super friendly, the bar staff and many volunteers and all the stewards and security who all had a smile on their face throughout the day and the players and coaching staff who all had time to talk to us.
This was non-league football at its best, owners wanting the best for the club and the community, a buzz around the ground from the supporters who can see positive changes and a fantastic charity being given a platform to fundraise for an amazing cause.
The day came to a fitting conclusion with 'The Fabulous Ukie Toons' singing happy Birthday to Mikayla and playing out their final song accompanied by owner George Akhtar and Makayla's Uncle Brendan who is a trustee for the charity and a massive Poppies fan along with Silvano on the tambourine who does fantastic work behind the scenes at the club and organised the charity day.
We know things are tight for everyone at the moment but if you could give a donation to the Team Makayla charity no matter how small or big or even just by sharing the link it would be amazing.
We would like to encourage any Kettering Town fans who may have lost their passion for the club when they lost their spiritual home of Rockingham Road to give this new chapter in The Poppies history a go as you won't be disappointed!
Getting back to Darren Ashley the best non-league vlogger out their, you can watch his take on the day hear:
All the best to Kettering Town and Lowestoft Town for the rest of the season and best wishes to Makayla and the amazing charity for the future.
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