From a Yeovil fan's point-of-view, this was an excellent match in that the Glovers kept the 100% home record, and the game was throughly entertaining. From a technical viewpoint, there will be some concern that Kettering were able to create a large number of chances, and relief that they weren't good enough to convert them.
During a bright start, Yeovil created the best of the early chances when Warren Patmore was hauled down just outside the box, but the free-kick was wasted.
After 12 minutes there were two incidents that together told the story of the match; after the ball was allowed to bounce over the top of the Yeovil defence, Kettering striker Sam Banya latched onto it and should have scored, but Tony Pennock made a fine save with his feet. Immediately Yeovil went on the attack, and within seconds were one-up; Warren Patmore picked out Matt Hayfield in space in the penalty area, and a sharp finish saw the ball go into the far low corner of the net via the inside of the post.
Kettering were to create more such chances as the one missed by Banya, and the same striker was the main culprit for missing them. For Yeovil, Jamie Pitman was looking at his best, and Warren Patmore was having his best game of the season so far. He got the second goal just before the half-hour mark, heading in a cross from the right.
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Warren Patmore heads Yeovil's second goal.
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David Norton should have made it 3-0 when put through, but pushed his shot wide. Kettering's closest effort was a long-range effort from Carl Adams hit the base of the post. Banya missed again when a neat passing move put him through on the hour mark. A spate of substitutions followed, after which Yeovil had clear control of the whole playing field for the first time; Ben Smith and Jamie Pitman in particular were combining well down the right and causing all sorts of trouble for Kettering. Although no more goals were forthcoming, this was an entertaining win, and I'm not asking for more than that.
For their part, Kettering look like they could be a very useful side if they signed a decent striker!
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First half action. |
