[Chief Rum]

September 11, 2002

Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Mallinger Praises Club After Win

FOREST GREEN-- Kettering chairman Peter Mallinger said he was very pleased with the club's performance after a 3-0 win over Forest Green Tuesday night.

"The guys are playing very well right now. Mr. Kieta really seems to have them playing in good form," Mallinger said at the Lawn, Forest Green's home ground. Mallinger tries to attend as many road games with the club as possible.

Mallinger has for the most part kept his silence since he hired the heretofore unknown Matthew Kieta as the new manager of the Kettering Town Poppies. He has weathered the complaints from fans and media when Kieta did little to improve the team from outside, and he stayed silent throughout the Poppies' early troubles in the Conference season.

Now that Kieta seems to have turned the side around, though, Mallinger is ready to support his choice.

"I think we can safely put that start behind us right now, and move on to a fruitful Conference season," Mallinger said. "I have never had a doubt that Mr. Kieta was the right choice for the job, but it's always nice when your convictions proive true."

With the 3-0 win over Forest Green, the Poppies moved into a tie for sixth place with Yeovil Town and Dag & Red, with nine points. The Poppies have won three in a row, including two straight road matches over the Rovers and Woking.

Kieta was more guarded in his enthusiasm.

"The guys did play well tonight, but we're just five matches into the fixture," Kieta said. "There's a lot of season left to go. I'm sure we're going to have bad stretches, too, and I would prefer to hold judgement until the end of the season. But I am happy that the recent play has pleased Mr. Mallinger and the fans."

The Poppies blitzed the Rovers Tuesday night, getting three goals before the first half was up and riding the lead to an easy victory in the second half.

Midfielder Shaun Murray, returning to the lineup after missing the Woking match with a minor injury, got the ball rolling when he knocked in a sharp left-footed shot in the 14th minute. He was set up beautifully by striker Carlin Itonga, who freed up room for the shot with a wing-spanning pitch run.

It was not long before the Poppies were knocking on the door again. In the 27th minute, striker Chris Thompson laid forward a beautiful pass to a streaking Itonga, who had slipped behind the defense as the pass was lofted. Itonga took it into the box and put the shot into the upper right corner of the net, leaving Rovers' keeper Steve Perrin to stare at it.

Then in the 38th minute, winger Wayne Duik lifted a long pass forward into Rovers territory, and Thompson just flat out beat the defense to it. Perrin tried to come forward, but Thompson lofted it over his head for a floating score and a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Poppies outshot the Rovers 8-0 in the first half, although the game-ending tally was 8-4. Kettering went into a defensive mode in the second half and just held onto their lead.

Defender Brett Solkhon, in particular, was dominating in the Poppies' own end and figured in several key defensive plays. It was his header which would eventually set up the third goal. His performance was so strong in fact that he was awarded the Man of the Match, over both Thompson and Itonga, who had a goal and an assist each.

Not all was good news for the Poppies, though. Shortly after the match, Kieta revealed that Thompson had picked up a knock, and hurt his neck.

"It's just one of those things," Kieta said. "A header gone awry. [Trainer] Peter [Lake] says he will be fine with some rest for a couple weeks, but he's not going to be available for matches during that time."

Thompson, the Poppies leading goal scorer with three so far, will likely be very missed with a key home match against table-topping Doncaster coming up this Saturday.